<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>There is no separation between the fallen and the stars by bobbersbme</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29241048">There is no separation between the fallen and the stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobbersbme/pseuds/bobbersbme'>bobbersbme</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All American (TV), Teen Wolf (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Broken Families, Confessions, Football, Found Family, Getting Together, Heart-to-Heart, Homelessness, Homophobic Language, Lacrosse, Liam is not a good liar, Love Confessions, M/M, Mistaken Identity, Overprotective, Overprotective Liam Dunbar, Roommates, Secret Relationship, Sibling Bonding, Unconventional Families, Werewolf Mishaps, college scouts, internet research, puppy pack antics, sports scholarship, they were roommates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:20:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>32,445</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29241048</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobbersbme/pseuds/bobbersbme</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam stumbles across to a guy that has Theo Raeken's face, and everything is absolutely wrong. If there is one thing that Liam knows, it's Theo Raeken, and that, is not Theo Raeken. </p><p>Who is this Theo imposter, and how dare he think he can dare to steal Theo's face! Not while Liam's acting alpha!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Asher Adams/JJ Parker, Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt, Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>156</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Beacon Hills Vs Beverly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I absolutely know nothing about lacrosse and everything I know about college scout recruiting and scholarships I've learned from TV and Movies...</p><p>I am not into sports, so, I apologize in advance if this is a bit of a stretch lol</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Liam hated away games. That hadn’t always been the case if he was honest, he used to love them. Not so much the travel being holed up in the bus and sometimes having to travel for hours on the way to get to the field where they were playing, but the atmosphere of a new place, of enjoying the rivalry with new players. Sometimes if they were there for a late game, and ended up staying overnight, then they might even get a chance to go out on the town after the game if they could give the Coach the slip, and with Corey, the odds were yes, yes they could. </p><p>Everything was different now though since he became responsible for the pack in Beacon Hills, he hated leaving town in a way that had him separated from half of his pack. Theo had sworn he wouldn’t let Mason, Alec, or any of their parents get hurt, and swore to keep Liam updated on anything, ANYTHING that happened while he was gone. Sure, they went through the assurances every time Liam had to leave the county, Liam pointedly chose to ignore the mocking way the first chimera rolled his eyes when he made him swear to keep in contact before they left this time. So what, he liked to double-check, and triple check, he worried alright! Just because everything was quiet in the town right now, Liam had learned the hard way that everything could change without even a moment’s notice.</p><p>Sure, technically Scott was the alpha of the pack, but he’d made Liam the alpha in his absence, so when he had to go away from games, he always felt like he was leaving the pack unprotected, even if part of the pack that was coming with him. Corey and Nolan were both on the team, and this time there was no chance that Mason or Theo would be driving to Beverly for the game, and it was an important one. Beverly Hills, while it was a big football school, they still had enough clout to draw in college scouts even when it came to lacrosse, so this game was super important for hopefully getting scouts more interested in Corey for scholarship purposes. They all had hopeful college plans, and getting Corey a good scholarship would be super helpful at this point. Liam, being the acting alpha, it wasn’t just the supernatural he wanted to help his pack with. If this game could help Corey get his scholarship, damn if he wasn’t going to make sure this wasn’t the best damn game they’d ever played.</p><p>It helped that the last time they’d played Beverly back on Beacon Hills home turf, he hadn’t gotten any inkling or scent that they had supernatural beings on the rival team. So, between Corey and him, they would have the edge. Sure, some would feel guilty that they were using their supernatural abilities to their advantage, but screw that, they had a sports scholarship to score for Corey! If they had to crush Beverly to get it, that was what Liam was going to do.</p><p>Either way, it was always better to be off the bus than on it, especially after being stuck on it with no real way to stretch his legs. They’d had a couple of hours since they arrived, to relax and prepare before the game started and now they were field-side adjusting their lacrosse gear as Coach gave his usual, nonsensical pre-game speech to amp them up. Independence Day speech for the win after all. This school, it was massive, the field itself looked the same as theirs, mostly, but it was the stands that stood out, rows, and rows of people filling them, while Beacon Hill’s had much smaller stands for their spectators compared.</p><p>It was intimidating, knowing that there were so many people here, so many people that, unlike when they were home, you could never know if any of them were hunters, or supernatural allies, or just plain innocent bystanders. Ever since the Anuk-Ite, the supernatural cat was out of the bag, so bad home they didn’t have to hide quite as rigidly as before, not that they flouted it, but still.</p><p>Even if they were here to play, and hopefully get a scouts interest for Corey, they had to be super careful while they were here. It wasn’t just the pack members who had to be careful, but the whole team knew now, so, even if they all knew that both Liam and Corey were stronger and faster than the rest of the players, they had to be careful not to show it even if they might use it time to time. Hey, Liam was here to win, he didn’t pretend otherwise.</p><p>The game was close, Beverly was good, and while Liam would have been happy to destroy them, watching his abilities meant he had to hold back. There was also the fact that they wanted the scouts to notice Corey, and the best way to do that was to let the other team succeed in getting the ball to the goal at least some of the time, so Corey could stop them from scoring. It helped that Liam helped make sure that Beverly’s goalie didn’t manage to save even a single goal from sailing into the net, so while the score might have been close, the game couldn’t have gone better when it came to highlighting their team for the scouts!</p><p>It was after the game that everything went pear-shaped. As Liam walked towards the bench, a slap to his back with a grin, it was a good game and Coach, in his weird way, was congratulating them. Not that anyone but their team would take his strange manner as a good thing rather than manic rantings of a mad man. Chuckling at Coach’s rant, suddenly Nolan was nudging his side, and urgently hissing to get his attention. Waving him off at first, Liam was looking at the guys, making sure they were all okay, even if a few were a bit bruised up, they all seemed to be okay. Again, Nolan was nudging him only this time it was more a hard elbow jab in his side to the ribs than just a bit of a shove.</p><p>“Ow, Nolan, what the hell?”</p><p>Just because he was supernatural and healed didn’t mean getting Nolan’s boney elbow to the side of his ribs didn’t hurt okay? Looking over to not only his co-captain but also his packmate, who was looking to him with those wide worried eyes, and that, that certainly got Liam’s attention.</p><p>“What, what’s wrong?”</p><p>“Have you heard from Theo?”</p><p>What? Why would he have heard from Theo, did he think something was wrong. Liam moved towards his spare gear on the bench and fished out his phone quickly, nope, no messages from Theo, nothing except the good luck text from his mother he saw right before the game.</p><p>“No, why Nollie?”</p><p>Looking back to the other boy, the human hunter, while could get nervous a lot, was doing his best to try to help the pack where ever he could, and Liam hoped this wasn’t just him being his usual anxious self right now with the nervous scent rolling off of him.</p><p>“Just figured he might tell you why he’s here?”</p><p>Nodding over to the stands where the Beverly team were licking their metaphorical wounds from their loss, and Liam looked over. His eyes searched the faces,</p><p>“What, he’s no-”</p><p>Holy hell…</p><p>What was Theo doing here?</p><p>“Nolan, get Corey.”</p><p>He would himself, but Liam was feeling more than a touch shocked as his eyes were practically glued to the visage of Theo Raeken across the field. Something, something was very wrong. He looked at Theo Raeken, he was standing next to some talk blonde guy, the blonde guy was smiling and patting the back of the captain of the Beverly High lacrosse team, what the hell?!</p><p>Staring daggers in the direction of the group across the field, the game might have gone well, but Liam was not happy. No, he sent Nolan to get Corey, because he wasn’t taking his eyes off Theo on the other side of the field, not until he knew what was going on.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The things we do...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Asher doesn't even care about lacrosse or Beacon Hills, and yet, here he is, cheering on his boyfriend's little brother for his game.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, another chapter for you, I can't promise they'll be this fast, wish I could, but fair warning lol.</p><p>You can find me <a href="https://bobbersb-fandomfun.tumblr.com/">here</a> if you wanna chat.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Asher didn’t know how JJ talked him into this. Sure they had the promise of a date night tonight, something that was not easy to navigate when their relationship was something they were keeping quiet, but he’d rather be spending his afternoon back at their dorm studying, translation, video games, than huddling in the stands and watching lacrosse back at their old high school. However, being the good boyfriend that he was, he was here, with JJ, for his younger brother’s game. Never would he understand what Riley saw in this sport and when he’d asked JJ, the taller man just shrugged with that smile of his, they didn’t need to enjoy the game to cheer for Beverly to win after all.</p><p>That was how he found himself in the stands by the field as the lacrosse kids were running around with their sticks scooping up the ball and tossing it around up and down the field. Even without knowing the game, it was easy to see that the other team undoubtedly needed to shore up their defence, the number of times that Beverly got to their goal, oh they were not great, the goalie, however… yep, that kid was good. For the number of times they got to him, they barely managed to score at all. On the flip side, the rival team scored quite a few times, even if the game was close in the end, the opposition, right, Beacon Hills, took the win. </p><p>“Our team, their goalie, maybe the captain from their team that made half their goals, pretty decent team.”</p><p>Asher smirked as he looked over to JJ, </p><p>“Let’s not tell Riley you said that, he’ll judge you forever for taking their captain over him.”</p><p>Chuckling at this boyfriend’s assessment of what his brother would think of his view of the game that was played, it was what it was. Maybe he got it completely wrong, he didn’t play lacrosse, he did, however, know you kind of really need to have a goalie that could stop goals if you wanted to win more games. Maybe the kid just had an off day, the poor kid was probably going to get a chewing out from their coach, Asher, never liked that feeling.</p><p>JJ reached out to pat Ash’s chest as he nodded down to the field,</p><p>“Come on, let’s check on Riles.”</p><p>They both knew what it was like to lose a game, and from a team from a little team that came from the sticks, at least, that was what Asher was assuming. He didn’t know much about Beacon Hills, and really beyond how good they were in sports, it really wasn’t something that bothered him enough to want to know much about it. It wasn’t like Asher even knew anyone that had ever lived there. He had enough on his plate right now anyway, keeping his grades up so there was no risk to his scholarship, and the team winning games helped too. </p><p>As they made their way down from the stands towards the home side of the field, Asher took one glance to JJ’s brother, and got an eye roll as he saw his brother there,</p><p>“Dude, you blackmail your roommate to come? Come on, we don’t play that badly! Where’s the hot college chick for me to mack on, you promised man!”</p><p>Asher chuckled low, his lips curved in a smile but not saying anything as he tucked his hands into his jacket pockets as JJ gave his younger brother a look,</p><p>“That was if you won, you didn’t win, so now you gotta suck it up and find your own way for your boring ass Saturday night.”</p><p>As much as JJ was the master of a party, loving throwing a rager every chance he got, his brother didn’t so much get the party bug. The kid played sports to try and get an in with girls, and all the good parties, especially since his brother wasn’t at home throwing them anymore. Instead, he was in the UCLA dorms with Asher, it got them time together, alone. Their relationship was a complicated one, mostly because coming out and dating another member of your football team, didn’t always go down well, especially around here. No, being queer and dating another guy was one thing, but a guy on the same team, it could be explosive. As much as Asher wanted to think they’d be accepted, but risking his place on the team when it was the only way he’d gotten the money for college at all, it was too much to ask. Thankfully, JJ didn’t completely hate him for needing to keep what they had quiet, even if it was asking a hell of a lot. His boyfriend was open, honest, and the nicest guy in the world, keeping secrets was not his forte, but for Asher, they were keeping it on the down-low.</p><p>There was another eye roll from Riley at JJ’s response,</p><p>“Come on, Riles,”</p><p>JJ smacked his brother on the back,</p><p>“Go get cleaned up, I’ll be an awesome big brother and take you for ice cream.”</p><p>Oh, that smile, the bright one, like the sun, as if there was no question to him that Riley was going to be cheered up by ice cream after losing their game. The deadpanned look from his brother lasted a second before the kid gave a put upon sigh,</p><p>“Yea, okay.”</p><p>JJ was exactly right, he knew his brother, he could talk about hot chicks and hookups all he wanted, but Riley was just as happy to drown his upset in creamy goodness. Who didn’t like ice cream right?</p><p>Heading towards the school, the team disappeared into the school towards the locker room where they could clean up. Asher stayed with JJ, walking along the empty hall alongside the way from the locker rooms. Reaching for JJ’s jacket, pulling him to face him with a smile,</p><p>“So, ice cream and date night, you going to let me in on the plan yet, baby boy?”</p><p>His boyfriend’s hands curved over his shoulders with that guileless smile from JJ, </p><p>“It’s a surprise, I can’t give it away yet. You’ll enjoy it, I promise.”</p><p>Just because their dates were inventive so they could spend time together enjoying what they wanted to without giving away their relationship openly, didn’t mean that they were ever just those boring boys that would sit in their dorm on a Saturday night doing nothing. Not that spending all night in bed wasn’t something that Asher had anything against.</p><p>“Come here,”</p><p>Reaching up to curve his fingers around the back of JJ’s neck to pull him in for a kiss, taking the chance while they were alone. His hand still grasping the front of JJ’s jacket had him pulled closer as his lips found his boyfriends in a kiss that he hated having to hold back from all the time. He always wanted to kiss JJ, that smile of his always made him want to ravage his boyfriend’s mouth. The kiss now started slow, quickly growing searing hot as he pressed JJ’s back against the wall drawing a heated chuckle from the taller man, which has Asher smirking against his lips with a shudder at the way their bodies pressed together,</p><p>“Is that your phone in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”</p><p>Shaking his head, they couldn’t do this now no matter how much he might want to, JJ has already promised Riley ice cream. Before he could even jokingly reply to JJ where was sudden message chime in the air that was unmistakably from a phone, not far from them, what,</p><p>“Oh hell, I know that’s not really your phone Asher, man, what the hell?”</p><p>Pulling back from JJ now to dig his phone from his pocket, not that JJ was wrong. It hadn’t been his phone he was feeling at all and now he needed to calm down again before Riley got back, but still, looking down to his phone, no new notifications for messages flashed across the screen at him.</p><p>“Wasn’t me.”</p><p>He had nothing, and with a glance to JJ looking down at his watch with a shake of his head, huh, wasn’t his either. Well, that was weird.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and Kudos are full of love and everyone gets a cookie!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Invisible means silent, Corey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Liam witnesses something he wishes he could unsee, and Corey tries to support him.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took a few moments for Nolan to get Corey over to Liam considering more than a few of the other players were congratulating the chimera, he’d saved more than a few goals after all. It was a good game, and Liam would be right there with the other guys celebrating the win, but his focus was on Theo across the field. Something wasn’t sitting right, and it wasn’t just that his phone in his hand didn’t have one single message from the other guy about coming to see them play… and even if he had, he wasn’t there for them, he was there for Beverly? It didn’t make any sense at all.</p><p>There was also a far worse question than what Theo was doing here that was playing on his mind.</p><p>Who the hell was the blonde guy standing next to Theo, acting like he was friends with Theo, standing far too close to Theo. Liam didn’t like him, not even one little bit.</p><p>Something wasn’t right and he was going to find out what the hell it was.</p><p>Corey might not have gotten the heightened wolf senses when his DNA was spliced, but he didn’t need to scent Nolan’s chemosignals to tell the other boy was worried about something. He’d settled down mostly from his constant anxiety since the hunters had vacated Beacon Hills, to have him rush over to him all nervous like telling him Liam <i>needed</i> him, well, that was something that didn’t fill him with the same cheery excitement he’d been enjoying with the wind-down of the game. Instead, he was walking over to Liam, the co-captain looking across the field with an intense focus, and that frown that didn’t mean anything good. </p><p>Following his line of sight, at first not seeing anything but the other team milling around and heading towards the school building, and then, wait, Theo?</p><p>“I thought Theo wasn’t coming, wait is Mason here?”</p><p>His eyes were quickly scouring the stands and all the people around them looking for his boyfriend. Yea, he knew that Mason didn’t like travelling with the other chimera, that even because Liam had forgiven Theo and welcomed into the pack, didn’t mean Mason was going to trust him any time soon, or ever. </p><p>“Not Mason, just Theo, with <i>them.</i>”</p><p>While Liam speaking had him looking back to his friend, the way he spat out that last word had his focus drawn back towards the guys across the field, including Theo with one of the other players and another taller guy. Well, Theo being here without telling them was one thing, with the other team, that was odd. Theo was not the most sociable of persons these days, the only person he seemed to not mind being around when he didn’t need something, was Liam, and with how exasperated he was sometimes, it was a wonder why. No, Corey knew why, even if Liam and Theo were painfully not dealing with it. </p><p>“We’re going to follow them, find out what this is about.”</p><p>Of course, they were, and Corey going with him meant one thing, invisible. Glancing to Liam wondering if he’d forgotten that Theo would be able to heart their heartbeats, but then seeing the look on the werewolf’s face, probably best to go with it. It wasn’t life or death right, it was Theo, and he was a part of the pack. Taking a breath, heading towards the school to find a place to safely disappear together and find the older boy, find out why he was here and what he was doing with the others from Beverly.</p><p>Corey was walking behind Liam now, both his hands on his shoulders, keeping contact as the green shimmer covered everything around them while they moved towards the home teams locker room. That was where the others had been heading when they’d left to disappear into thin air. Liam scented the air, and outside of sweaty humans, he wasn’t getting anything supernatural aside from Corey and himself, not that that honestly said anything, Theo had been trying to teach him how to hide his chemosignals to not reveal himself when he didn’t want to. </p><p>So if his scent wasn’t going to help Liam find him again, he focused on what he could hear, and doing his best to tune out the sounds of the players in the locker rooms, their team, Beverly’s team, they were all annoying noise right now, what he wanted was, there. Two heartbeats, on their own. As soon as Liam got them, focusing and leading Corey towards them was much easier, and sure enough, there they were, right in their sight. Seeing the pair, set a knot in Liam’s stomach with the way they looked at each other.</p><p>Not for the first time Liam wanted to march right over and smash his fist into Theo’s face, breaking his nose so it would take forever to heal this time preferably, and then break the other guy’s nose as well. He didn’t though, not with this feeling he had settled in him, it was dark and sickening, and just fueled the anger that made him want to lash out.</p><p>
  <i>The Sun. The Moon. The Truth.</i>
</p><p>Breath in, breath out.</p><p>
  <i>The Sun. The Moon. The Truth.</i>
</p><p>No smashing anyone’s noses until he knew what was happening. He was the alpha in training, he needed to stay calm.</p><p>
  <i>The Sun. The Moon. The Truth.</i>
</p><p>Corey felt Liam go tense under his hands at the sight of the two guys getting closer, and then, oh shit, Theo was pulling the taller one in for a kiss? Without thinking, he was pulling Liam back against him and his hands squeezing the shorter boy’s shoulders slightly. If it was Mason he was seeing kiss someone else right then, he didn’t know how he would be feeling, but he knew that it had to be some sort of miracle that Liam wasn’t trying to kill the taller boy. Corey sure would have tried to stop him, but he wasn’t that strong and he knew it.</p><p>The guy might have at least, at least a half a foot over Liam, but Corey had no doubt that Liam could take him, snap him in two for that even. Corey grimaced at the way the kiss grew heated, he didn’t want to be here anymore, whatever Theo was doing, it was only going to hurt Liam. Problem was, trying to pull Liam away, the beta wouldn’t move, instead, he was glaring intensely at the pair as they kissed as if something was going to jump out at them. Rolling his eyes at the joke about the phone, nope, didn’t even want to know about that, when his phone went off in his pocket earning Liam turn his head a little to glare at him. Whoops?</p><p>Ignoring the pair now, Corey let go of one of Liam’s shoulders to fish his phone out of his pocket, and sure enough, there was a message from Nolan telling them that Coach said if they weren’t showered and back on the bus in fifteen minutes, they were walking home. No way in hell was Corey walking home. Showing the message to Liam, earning a frown worse than he had had on the field, he didn’t even need to read his mind to see Liam’s reluctance as he nodded, and they got out of there so they could shower and pack up as fast as they could. This day had been a mixed bag for sure, the game had been great, but watching Liam’s heart getting shattered into a million pieces, not so much.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Kudos and Comments are love, and every one gets a cookie!</p><p>You can also find me <a href="https://bobbersb-fandomfun.tumblr.com/">here</a> if you wanna chat.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Bus ride of DOOM</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Liam thinks over the possibilities while on the bus ride back to Beacon Hills.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Liam wanted to destroy every single person on the team that he passed by as he walked onto the bus. Doubly so for the ones that slapped him on the back just as they did Corey as he walked down the aisle all the way to the back. He felt like he was nothing but a shiny ball of rage right now as he shifted to settle into the seat in the far back corner. They all knew not to bother him when he sat there, it was tantamount to asking to get your head ripped off. Usually, he sat in the front section of the bus, talking with everyone, all smiles, but not today. It was one good thing with everyone on the team knowing his nature now, it wasn’t just about his I.E.D. anymore, they knew he could do a whole lot worse than break someone’s nose if he slipped up.</p><p>Why wouldn’t this have been one of those game where they travelled far enough that they needed to stay overnight, then he’d have been able to have a better idea of what the fuck was happening, follow him longer than the short while they had been able to. Of course, with that thought came the reminder of what he’d seen, the way the pair had been all over each other.</p><p>Date Night.</p><p>That’s what he had said, and Liam just wanted to be sick.</p><p>It…</p><p>That…</p><p>He couldn’t even put his thoughts together coherently at the memory of watching them make out in that hallway. The way the tall guys back had pressed against the wall, the low laughter at the joke of a phone before Corey’s had disturbed them.</p><p>No, Liam didn’t want to think about their ‘date night’ and what that no doubt meant. Right now he wished he had some of that wolfsbane laced vodka that Th-</p><p>He swallowed heavily pushing the thought of the person away that had made it possible for him to get buzzed again since the bite. Not that he’d gone out drinking a lot before that, just with the team when he was at Devenford, but still, getting drunk sounded really fucking good now. </p><p>Too many thoughts were going through his mind about what could be happening here, and none of them felt good.</p><p>The most obvious was the worst one, that Theo, Theo somehow had some double life, hidden in Beverly Hills, with the sun-kissed asshole, stupid tall asshole, that he’d been kissing in the all.</p><p>Asher. That was what the guy had called him. </p><p>Something didn't sit right in his gut with that explanation, it really didn’t, and not just because the thought of Theo, with… he couldn’t go there, not now, it would just distract him from figuring this out.</p><p>Hunters, it could be hunters, but why, and how? Magic, was there some sort of spell behind that mask, were they trying to lure Theo out? Liam knew that there was no way that Theo hadn’t made enemies over the time he’d spent with the Dread Doctors. Hell, he’d made enemies of the pack as well, and even if Liam thought that Theo had done beyond fantastic in proving himself since he pulled him back, there were some of the others that didn’t agree. Liam didn’t care about that, Theo was better, not perfect, none of them was perfect, but miles better than he used to be.</p><p>The thought that someone was trying to lure Theo away from the safety of the pack just fueled the rage that Liam was already feeling.</p><p>They were almost home by the time that Corey was sliding into the empty seat in front of Liam, facing him, so he had to look at him. Sighing, he didn’t feel any calmer, but Corey instead of poking him, he just sat there waiting until Liam spoke first.</p><p>“I don’t think we should tell the others.”</p><p>And just like that, Nolan was there too, shifting to sit next to Corey facing Liam, taking the fact that he spoke for the first time since getting on the bus, a little over an hour of silence just sitting there, as a cue that it was safe to approach.</p><p>Before Corey could open his mouth,</p><p>“Not until I know what’s going on. I know you want to tell Mase Corey, but Mason isn’t exactly Theo’s biggest supporter, and I know what he’d say, and he’d be <i>wrong</i>.”</p><p>Liam was entirely sure about that, that was the only conclusion he’d come to that there was no question in his mind. No matter what was happening here, he knew what it wasn’t.</p><p>“If there is one thing I know these days, it’s Theo Raeken.”</p><p>He was in love with him, of course, he knew Theo. Just because Theo didn’t feel the same way about him didn’t mean anything at all. Liam loved Theo and he wasn’t going to just stand there and listen to Mason’s long list of why they, he, should have never trusted Theo in the first place. </p><p>“And that wasn’t, <i><b>Theo Raeken.</b></i>”</p><p>The low growl under his breath as he spoke that name, it was the first time he’d said it in anger since the hospital. Since the day he realised he had feelings for the other man that went beyond the frustration and begrudging friendship that had started after he released him from the underground.</p><p>Looking between the two other boys, and they both looked beyond sceptical with what Liam was saying, and he didn’t blame them. If he didn’t know every look in Theo’s eyes, the way he stood, the way he spoke, the way his lips pressed together so carefully, he’d be sceptical too. The man today had seemed in every respect to be Theo Raeken, but in the pit of Liam’s gut, he knew it wasn’t. It. Wasn’t.</p><p>“Please, just give me a little time, if I can’t find anything, then, then we’ll talk to the others.”</p><p>Mason, Alec, and Theo. </p><p>Liam already had a few ideas of how to look into who this other guy was, the Theo Imposter. Asher had been his name, both he and the other guy had been talking to the junior that was the captain of the Beverly team, what was his name again? Parker? Liam was going to start there.</p><p>As for how this guy had Theo’s face, that was going to be harder to get anything on, but first, he’d start with the who, and then he could try and work on the how and the why. One step at a time sounded like a good way to start.</p><p>“In the meantime, if you need any help Liam, we’re here.”</p><p>Liam had looked down to his hand with a sigh, only to lift his head at Corey’s words. It didn’t take a mind reader to know that the chimera was thinking that Liam was just heartbroken and wanted to think of any excuse why that couldn’t be Theo they’d seen intimately involved with someone else. Even if Corey was right, it was Liam’s own fault, wasn’t it? Holding back from Theo, because he didn’t want to make things awkward with him staying in his spare room. Liam refused to risk Theo getting spooked and living in his truck again, or worse, leaving altogether.</p><p>Nolan nodded in agreement, and Liam smiled a little bit then, even to himself it felt like a grimace, but he tried.</p><p>“Thanks, Cor, Nollie.”</p><p>The might not be the two people he usually would confide in first when he needed help, but he didn’t think either of them would be of much help in this situation. Not until Liam had a better idea of what was going on.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You can find me <a href="https://bobbersb-fandomfun.tumblr.com/">here</a> if you wanna chat.</p><p>Kudos and comments are love, and help keep me motivated lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Proving a point</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When Mason finds out about Liam's investigation, he has to prove to his best friend what he already knew in his gut, that this isn't just one of Theo's schemes.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To Corey’s credit, it takes Mason almost a whole two weeks to pull it out of his boyfriend what they had discovered at Beverly. Yes, Liam does say credit when it comes to this because he knows exactly how difficult it is to keep secrets from Mason when he realises there is one, and Corey, he hasn’t had nearly as long a time as practice at this as Liam had. There is also the fact that neither Corey nor Nolan were very good at being deceptive in the first place, and if Liam was truly honest, he was surprised it wasn’t Nolan that had cracked first. Mason probably used the boyfriend card on Corey, that was just dirty pool. Needless to say, if Liam ever wanted to plan a surprise party for Mason, Corey would not be his first choice to have as a cohort, at least not until there was no way he could accidentally give it away and change the plans!</p><p>Still, Liam was in the middle of an English essay when he got a message from Corey, apologising and warning him that Mason was on his way over to Liam’s, he knew. Here it comes.</p><p>At least Theo was working the day shift at the grocery store so he wasn’t home when Mason all but barged into Liam’s room after his mum let him in. As it was, now that Theo had a halfway decent job, he’d tried to find an apartment that he could afford multiple times, but mum had cut him off at every turn, there was no way she was going to let him move out of their perfectly decent house, to live in what was probably a rat-infested shoebox at those prices. The last time he’d tried she put her foot down and said if he was that worried about living here, he could pay rent for the room, and that was final. As far as Liam had overheard there had been no more arguments about it since. Not that it was really something he’d call arguments, but his mother telling Theo, the man that was formerly known as the chimera of death, what was going to happen. Even Theo knew better than to disagree when Jenna Geyer got that MOM tone. She might be tiny, Liam was barely taller than she was, but she was a force to be reckoned with.</p><p>Thanks to the heads up from Corey, Liam had already put away his essay and pulled out the research he’d been keeping stashed away as carefully as he could. Most of it was on his laptop, in a folder that was securely locked with a password that looked like someone had thrown up random letters on it. Liam hated those passwords with a vengeance, but at least Theo wasn’t going to be able to guess it from Liam’s head. Oh, he knew that Theo had figured out his laptop password awhile ago. Not that he needed it, he had one of Liam’s refurbished old laptops to call his own now, one that he tried to insist on paying for, until Liam had pointed out he was saving it from a landfill. He did, however, put money in for the internet, and as much as Liam had wanted to argue, his mother had given him one of her looks, before thanking Theo for being so thoughtful. That seemed to have satisfied the older boy, even if Liam thought he was being ridiculous, it wasn’t like they’d had to change their internet to accommodate him. </p><p>“How could you not tell me?”</p><p>Liam frowned at the hurt accusation coming from his best friend,</p><p>“You know why Mase, you’re about as objective as I am when it comes to the subject of Theo. You attacking him wouldn’t have gotten us anywhere.”</p><p>When Mason when to argue, and Liam knew it was to argue that Liam just admitted that he wasn’t any more objective as he was, Liam turned his laptop with the files documenting his research into Asher Adams of Beverly Hills already open on the screen ready for Mason to look over. </p><p>“At least go over my research instead of insulting me and making an assumption that I'm not acting rationally because it’s Theo.”</p><p>Thing was, he knew how Mason would think, he’d argue that Theo couldn’t be trusted, that he was behind all of this, which was why he’d included a very distinct comparison of the imposter's life, Asher Adams' life, to what he could prove of Theo’s actions in Beacon Hills… including a very active social media presence during the months that Theo was trapped in the underground-hell-prison whatever you wanted to call it. Everything about the imposter was different from Theo Raeken, he went to high school, played sports, went to parties, hell, he even had at least two girlfriends during high school, they were all over his social media. It was actually thanks to Mason himself that he knew how to check things like metadata to see when photographs were taken, and when posts were done, not just the date on the screen which could be altered. Not that Liam was perfect by any means, but so far, it was all there.</p><p>Liam had not only looked into the imposter to try and find out what he was up to but also to convince Mason of the very fact that he was not, in any way, Theo. Oh, knew he would need to prove it sooner or later, because just as he knew Mason wasn’t objective, Liam could admit he wasn’t either. He hated that he knew Mason wouldn’t trust him on this, not when it came to Theo, but at least he had the proof that he needed.</p><p>He didn’t want to waste time arguing with Mason about Theo, again. Liam was tired of arguing with Mason about how horrifying it was the way Theo was treated. If one more person brought up that Theo killed his sister as if that was ALL they needed to condemn him for the rest of time, he was going to break things, and he wasn’t talking noses, he was talking real bones. Theo was manipulated, and practically tortured through his childhood, and he was a victim. Sure, he’d killed to survive, and Liam made no excuse for the fact that Theo had done horrible things, but not even ten years old when Tara died, he would have been sent to juvenile detention, not a supernatural hell prison. On top of that, the only reason they knew it was him, was because Theo admitted to it now, and was doing so much to make up for everything.</p><p>Theo had done his time as far as Liam was concerned, and since he came back, sure sometimes he could be an asshole, but he was always by Liam’s side when he needed him, saving his life again and again. Theo had more than proved he could be trusted as far as Liam was concerned, and despite what Mason thought, it wasn't just because Liam had feelings for him. The Theo he was now, was not the Theo he was before hell.</p><p>Liam waited, waited as Mason went over the files, a bit hurt when Mason went and opened the different sites he’d taken information from to double-check all the information himself, but he had truthfully expected that. His best friend was the kind that went over everything, he couldn’t just trust Liam that he was thorough, no matter how much information was there for him to go over. Liam was sure he’d covered everything in his comparison of the two males, Theo, and Imposter Theo, but the longer that Mason took, the more worried Liam got that he had missed something, something that he would pick at and pull it all apart. </p><p>Glancing down to his watch, it wouldn’t be too long before Theo finished at work, and being the weekend it wasn’t one of the days he’d stop for a session at the gym. They didn’t have long before he was home and Liam knew Theo would hear every word if he got back before Mason was done.</p><p>Sighing he was looking over to Mason and contemplating whether he should say something when his best friend took in a breath, looking up from the laptop and towards Liam.</p><p>“Okay, so you've proved it isn't Theo, but you haven’t proved to me he has nothing to do with it.”</p><p>Rolling his eyes,</p><p>“Come on Mase, please, I need you to have an open mind. You expected me to give Corey the benefit of the doubt, and I’m not even asking you that of Theo. I’m giving you facts. Theo was imprisoned for months, and this guy was out there. He was homeless and this guy was out there. I don’t know what’s going on, but don’t you think if he was a part of it, he would have left Beacon Hills to go to Beverly when he quite literally had nothing but his truck? When everything that kept him here was gone? When he was hunted like an animal?!”</p><p>He was trying to stay calm, but his voice just got tenser the longer he talked as he laid it out for Mason.</p><p>“If you’re just going to attack Theo, I don’t need you here. I love ya Mase, but if you’re not willing to help me, I don’t want you anywhere near this. I’m tired of fighting with you about Theo, I accept that you’ll never be okay with him, but you need to accept that I’m going to find out what is happening, with or without you.”</p><p>Mason just stared at him for a long moment, Liam schooling his features to stare back, not wanting him to know how much it hurt that Mason might choose to walk away rather than help him just because he couldn’t be anything but biased against Theo. After a tense moment between them, neither of them shifting until,</p><p>“How can I help?”</p><p>Instantly, the relief washed was palpable as the werewolf sighed heavily, smiling at Mason a beat later. Liam was more than thankful he was willing to help despite his feelings when it came towards the first chimera.</p><p>“Well, I think we need to get a better view of what is going on around Beverly, and I think I’ve hit a wall with that online. So, I was thinking of a trip there in person, but I could use the help on the details of how to do that without Theo figuring out why.”</p><p>Theo had been through enough, they’d all been through a lot, but Liam didn’t want to pull Theo into this until he knew what was happening. On the other hand, he also didn’t want to leave town again, leaving Theo behind. It felt bad enough each day, going to school, Theo going off to work, knowing if something happened, Liam possibly wouldn’t know until it was too late. He just wanted to wrap himself around Theo and cling to him, keep him right there, in his line of sight, just in case. No one was going to come for Theo, not without Liam doing something about it. No one.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You can find me <a href="https://bobbersb-fandomfun.tumblr.com/">here</a> if you wanna chat.</p><p>Kudos and comments are love, and help keep me motivated lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. pineapple heathen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Liam finally got an idea of how to explain a trip to Beverly, and of course, he got the inspiration from the one person he'd never ask when it came to all of this.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This scene was literally written just so I could finally bring Theo into this lol, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It would seem, that even with Mason’s help, that it was going to take more information of what was going on closer to Beverly Hills, surrounding Imposter Theo, before they could unravel more of what could be happening here. Liam refused to consider this imposter by the name that he was using. Whoever it was didn’t deserve a name, he’d stolen Theo’s face, and that was all Liam needed to know to want to destroy him down to every last spec. The fact that when he closed his eyes, his gut twisted in knots remembering the way that imposter Theo had pulled the taller guy closer to him, lips devouring the others in that heated kiss. It was more horrifying that at times Liam’s traitorous mind gave him a different vantage point, seeing the imposter’s face as he kissed the other man. Seeing his eyes that looked exactly like Theo’s as he smirked at Liam before pulling that man in for another kiss.</p><p>JJ Parker, brother to the Beverly lacrosse captain, Riley Parker. That was who that man had been, and how Liam had followed the trail to find out specifics about the so-called Asher Adams, aka, Imposter Theo.</p><p>Liam hated that it was getting to him. He wasn’t even Theo, he wasn’t, he knew it wasn’t, but that painful memory was burned into his brain and made him want to run his claws over his skin again and again so he didn't do something so stupid. He didn’t, not the claws, or the stupidity, but he was struggling.</p><p>He hated this feeling. Theo was his anchor, and having this affect him so adversely was a problem. The only time he felt truly calm of late was when he was right there, with Theo. Problem with that was he couldn’t continue working to attempt to uncover any clue to the imposter’s scheme while he was with Theo.</p><p>Mason was helping to keep him distracted and working on the problem, even if they could only really brainstorm during school hours when Liam was sure Theo couldn’t possibly overhear them talking about any of what they were thinking. About how this imposter had stolen Theo’s face, or why anyone would want to. Liam’s guess was that it was one of Theo’s potential supernatural enemies from his Dread Doctor days, targeting Theo with all the dread doctors gone, but it could easily be hunters, trying to draw him out. Mason, however, pointed out, the hunters wouldn’t have been working on this so long term to have such an in-depth backstop on this imposter's identity, nothing they could find about the guy could be proven false, it was as if this imposter had been living a whole normal and valid life.</p><p>Why live a whole life? Who would go to so much trouble? And why with Theo’s face?</p><p>When Liam had voiced that question, and Nolan had snickered rhetorically asking if he’d <i>seen</i> Theo’s face, how he was hot like bu- only for the other man to stop instantly at the murderous blue-eyed glare from the beta as his eyes started to flare gold and his gums ached, his fangs threatening to break through, Nolan instead quickly apologizing. No, no he had no idea why anyone would want to steal Theo’s face, it was completely utterly confusing. Excuse him while he actually had some studying to do so he was going to go do that. Liam's glare didn't lessen even a little towards Nolan as he retreated.</p><p>They needed more information, and none of them had come up with a viable reason as to why they could take a trip to Beverly without unwanted attention, so for now, they could only theorise about what was happening. Of course, where else would Liam get inspiration for an idea of how to go about that, from none other than the one person in the immediate pack members in Beason Hills that didn’t know what was happening, Theo.</p><p>It was just a simple night at home, his mum and dad had just left for date night, and Liam came across Theo in the lounge. He’d been working all day, so it was no surprise that while the tv was on, the chimera wasn’t paying attention to it, instead, he was laid back along the length of the couch with his eyes closed. Not the first time, by the looks of it it was one of those days at work that took its toll, and Liam knew it wasn’t so much the work, but the people he had to deal with all day that bothered Theo. Liam couldn’t do anything about the people, but the aching feet he ended up with after being on them all day, that he could do something for. Shifting to move and sit on the couch, he was lifting Theo’s feet onto his knees and curving his hands around his soles, let his fingertips dig into the pressure point he knew was there. Smiling softly as he looked to Theo, while the man just sighed softly, it was the way he could see his whole body seem to relax and go boneless against the couch cushions as Liam rubbed circles into his feet.</p><p>“Better?”</p><p>The rough hum could almost be mistaken as a moan, and Liam sighed as he heard it, taking it as an affirmation. Not that he really needed it in answer, he could see the way Theo was relaxing now. Focusing on working his fingers along Theo’s feet to lessen the strain for him, and the added effect of even the slightest touch calmed the turmoil Liam was feeling of late. Making Theo feel better was the icing on the cake.</p><p>Just when he was feeling soothed and calm, Theo spoke and pulled Liam from his thoughts, his eyes drawn to the older boy.</p><p>“You’ve been avoiding me.”</p><p>“No, no I-”</p><p>“Don’t lie to me, Little Wolf, you’re not that good at it.”</p><p>Liam pouted, he hated how easy it was for Theo to read him and not just for his heartbeat, it was pretty much the reason he was careful to try and only be around Theo of late when other people were around. His parents at dinner, hanging out with Mason and the others during pack nights, burying himself in assignments and the like to give him a reason to be distracted from time alone with Theo.</p><p>“I’m just, I’ve been trying to help Corey with his scholarship stuff, and it’s confusing. He’s gotten some interest from a scout, but he needs his scholarship to accept it. All his forms are in, but we haven’t heard back and it just, it’s stressing me out.”</p><p>None of that was a lie, it was all true, and instantly Liam felt guilty saying it, thinking about how his focus on Theo had put Corey’s issue to the backseat, and it shouldn’t have.</p><p>Liam swallowed, looking back to his hands as he continued to rub his fingertips against Theo’s feet, moving up to his ankles slowly,</p><p>“The trick is to get him noticed, Little Wolf, Corey needs to stand out from the other players, in a way that goes beyond his game. Maybe give the coach a call, get him personally interested in Corey on the team.”</p><p>Liam paused, completely stopped including his hands work as a thought struck him, get the coaches interest, why stop at a phone call right? Of course, before he could consider grabbing his phone to call Corey about his idea, Theo was nudging him with his foot,</p><p>“Hey, who said you could stop?”</p><p>A chuckle escaped Liam as he looked back to Theo with a smile, the chimera’s smirk as Liam went back to his impromptu massage,</p><p>“So, pizza for dinner?”</p><p>He could talk to Corey at school tomorrow to discuss his idea, it was perfect. Not only would they be able to try and help Corey, but also hopefully get some more information into what was going on with the Theo Imposter.</p><p>“Pizza and movie night? Or are you going to disappear into your room again?”</p><p>Liam smiled easier than he had in weeks, </p><p>“I’m all caught up on my homework. I’ll call for the pizza, you pick the movie.”</p><p>Squeezing Theo’s feet slightly, shifting to reach for the phone so he could make a call.</p><p>“Don’t worry, I’ll only get pineapple on mine.”</p><p>Smirking as he dialled the pizza place by memory, while Theo could cook some when he wasn’t dead on his feet, Liam’s food tricks were pretty much limited to memorising delivery numbers.</p><p>“You heathen you.”</p><p>Liam just grinned, ever since Stiles had called Liam a heathen over his love of pineapple on his pizza, Theo used the opinion against the other guy every chance he got. He knew that Stiles was never going to be his friend, so, antagonising him was just fun now. Liam did nothing to discourage him with the remarks Stiles made every time he saw Liam eat his pineapple pizza!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, opinions on pineapple on pizza? Yay or Nay? Are you Liam, Theo, or Stiles? :P</p><p>Find me on tumblr <a href="https://bobbersb-fandomfun.tumblr.com/">here</a>. Comments and kudos are love!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. best laid plans</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Liam has a plan, now he just has to convince Corey and Mason that it could work.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Since they’d brought their investigation into school hours, a large portion of their lunch hours was spent in the library going over the information that they managed to compile, looking into every nook and cranny of Imposter Theo’s life that they could find, and everything he was involved with in Beverly Hills that could remotely be connected to anything that would affect real Theo here in Beacon Hills. Liam had wondered if someone had stupidly just placed this imposter in the wrong place, but that still didn’t tell them why he was masquerading with Theo’s face, and how. Magic, shapeshifting, skinwalker, who the hell knows.</p><p>Usually, Liam would suggest asking Theo, he knew the most about the supernatural outside of the books, but Liam still wasn’t ready to bring him in. For all he knew, Theo knowing about this guy was exactly what the people that were doing this wanted, and he couldn’t allow that. Still, that in itself was going to make Liam’s plan tricky, but it was all they had, first though, he needed to convince Corey and Mason.</p><p>Once they’d all eaten, not they were in the library, the same table they’d been using, off to the side away from other students.</p><p>“So, last night I got an idea. I was talking to Theo, and-”</p><p>“You told him?”</p><p>Shaking his head at Corey’s question,</p><p>“No, he asked me why I was avoiding him, and I told him I was worried about Corey’s scholarship, which wasn’t a lie after all.”</p><p>Smirking at his quick thinking, sue him, he was actually pretty surprised it had worked, Theo usually called him on his bullshit! So, either he was getting better at telling a half-truth so he could slip under the radar, or, Theo was being a sneaky bastard like always.</p><p>Admittedly, a sneaky bastard was the most likely, but he couldn’t worry about that, not right now. Later, after he convinced Corey and Mason of his plan, then he could worry about it. From the look on Mason’s face, he was incredulous about Liam’s lying ability as well. Nope, he wasn’t going to think on how there was no trust in that, damn Theo reading him like a book. It was annoying.</p><p>“So anyway, we were talking about Corey’s scholarship, and Theo mentioned that we should give the coach a call and talk to him directly, get him interested in Corey on the team, get you noticed as more than just a name on a piece of paper.”</p><p>Smiling to the other two, Mason raising an eyebrow as Corey looked from Liam to his boyfriend,</p><p>“That not entirely a bad idea, we could call-”</p><p>“Wait wait, my idea is killing two birds with one stone. I propose, we go to Beverly for a weekend, meet with the coach in person, which will show some serious investment in wanting to be there, and so much more memorable than a phone call. While we’re there, we can look into Beverly Hills, it’s not that far from the campus.”</p><p>Barely a twenty-minute drive away, perfect for a fact-finding mission. </p><p>“There is a catch though.”</p><p>This is the tricky part and the part that was most likely going to have at least Mason arguing against it.</p><p>“I want to bring Theo with us.”</p><p>Looking between the two, Mason levelling him with a look that showed he was definitely wondering if Liam had gone off the deep end wanting to bring Theo to where his imposter was while also not telling Theo about their investigation.</p><p>“We can tell him we’re checking out the campus after Corey meets with the coach and all.”</p><p>It would work, it had to work!</p><p>“Wouldn’t it just be easier to go on our own?”</p><p>Corey asked what he knew he would, and Mason, well, the expression on his face told Liam that he felt the same, and probably much more intensely than Corey worded it. Sighing sightly, </p><p>“I don’t want to let Theo out of my sight, okay? It’s one thing here while he’s at work, at the gym, I can get to him if something goes wrong while we’re here in town, but two hours away? Hell no. Don’t Mase, don’t, I wouldn’t ask you to leave Corey behind, don’t ask me that.”</p><p>Cutting off his best friend immediately before he even opened his mouth, whether he was going to argue or offer and alternative Liam didn’t care. Mason knew how he felt about Theo, and even if he hated Theo, had been trying to convince him to tell him for months, but Liam couldn’t. Theo being here, happy and safe, was more important than how Liam felt, and if he told him and everything went sideways, Liam wasn’t sure even his mother could stop Theo from jumping ship and leaving. No, it was better this way.</p><p>“Say, for one insane moment, I agree with you about Theo going with us, and you, you keeping him distracted while Corey and I go to Beverly and see what we can find,”</p><p>Yep, Liam saw that coming, he knew that he would have to play Theo-wrangler, stop him from finding out what they were really up to. It would help that Liam was intending to go to UCLA, and in turn, a campus tour wouldn’t be too strange for them to do.</p><p>“How are we going to get Theo to agree to a trip to a college he has no intention of going to?”</p><p>Right, valid question, Liam looked over to Corey,</p><p>“Well, while I could ask him, but he’d just roll my eyes and say you and Corey are coming, I’ll be fine, but I was thinking, our best bet is for Corey to ask him for moral support?”</p><p>And maybe Liam was thinking maybe Corey might need the extra support. Liam wasn’t stupid, he knew Corey was worried about this scholarship, it was his chance to get into school. Without it, he didn’t have other avenues, Liam and Mason had families that could help. Hell, Corey was working two jobs and doing everything he could to get to college, but without that scholarship, it wouldn’t be enough.</p><p>Corey looked wary between them, and Liam didn’t blame him, trying to pull one over on Theo was not something that was easily done. Truthfully, it was probably impossible, which, just came back to the fact he was a sneaky bastard and likely just letting Liam think he was completely clueless. Did make him wonder how much Theo had figured out.</p><p>With both Liam and Mason looking at Corey now,</p><p>“Fine, I’ll ask him, I can’t promise he’ll agree so you guys better have a back-up plan, because I doubt even me asking will do the trick.”</p><p>Liam couldn’t help smiling brightly,</p><p>“Don’t worry, I’ll give him a nudge to get him into agreeing. It’ll work, it has to.”</p><p>Talk about how worried Corey was about this plan, how them going with him could be the key support he needed for this. </p><p>“Oh, and it’ll help I’m going to say it was Mason’s idea for the road trip, throw him under the bus as to why a phone-call won’t cut it and meeting the coach in person has just added to you being nervous.”</p><p>And Mason being at fault for Corey’s nerves would explain why Mason being there for moral support wouldn’t seem as pinnacle as it would normally between them. Smiling to his best friend, Mason could live with Theo thinking he was picking up the slack and fixing his mess, he could.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Are we getting closer to knowing what's happening?<br/>Love in the form of comments and kudos might get me to write faster<br/>(no promises, but really, comment, I love ALL of them, even the keyboard smashes!)</p><p>Find me on tumblr <a href="https://bobbersb-fandomfun.tumblr.com/">here</a>, send me love, rants, prompts, you name it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. theo's gambit</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Theo knows Liam is up to something, he's letting him play his games... for now.</p><p>Meanwhile, Liam suddenly as a 'mysterious' interest in football.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had taken some convincing, but in the end, between Corey and Liam, they managed to convince Theo to join them for the weekend, a long weekend, getting permission from Mrs Martin to take Friday off considering it was for a college visit. Hell, the women had skipped them to seniors, Liam had no doubt she wanted them to graduate and get on with their lives out of her school, and this was just one step closer to that, so, off they were.</p><p>Theo drove Liam in his truck, with the werewolf paying for the gas, part of the deal when agreeing to come, while Mason and Corey went together in Mason’s car. He strung Liam on for a week after already telling Corey he’d come, mostly because he knew Liam was up to something. Liam was not the mastermind he wanted to be in the weeks gone by, Theo had noticed that something was up with the beta wolf weeks ago. He was telling half-truths, enough to not come across as a clear lie with his heartbeat, but giving himself away after the fact. When he thought Theo was accepting of whatever response he’d give, and then, his heart would skip in relief. While Liam was getting better at controlling his chemosignals and heartbeat, he was far from perfect, and the younger male forgot that relief and satisfaction had just as much of a tell than the skip in a heartbeat with a lie.</p><p>Sure, Theo could call Liam on all of this, but considering he hadn’t found anything sinister going on himself, and Theo was always on the lookout for things happening, he let Liam have his secrets. It was increasingly rather amusing watching him flounder every time that he commented on something he’d noticed that Liam obviously didn’t want him to know. Sooner or later, the wolf would crack open himself, and until he found something that bothered him, he was having too much fun watching Liam chase his tail.</p><p>The guy even had a security folder on his laptop that he thought was hidden and Theo couldn’t just hack into, it was cute, so cute. He didn’t though, for the same reason he didn’t corner Liam in person, Liam was probably doing something weird with Mason and Corey. He could though, if he wanted, hack the files.</p><p>No one knew that Theo was actually pretty decent with technology, with how much of the world has gone digital, Theo had taught himself how to track information online just as much as he did with the supernatural. Of course, when it came to his own preference, he’d take a hard copy any day, those couldn’t be hacked and searched with a stroke of a key thank you! So many had their lives all over the internet now, and Theo didn’t get it. You wouldn’t catch him with some stupid facebook file, or tinder profile, not on your life! He was quite happy letting the pack think he was entirely inept and leave him out of it. To them, he only knew how to use the group message cause Liam had taught him how.</p><p>Right now, he was walking out of the cafe they’d had lunch in with Liam, Corey and Mason had left already to go meet with the UCLA head sports coordinator and head lacrosse coach. Liam, however, had been talking about checking out the campus and seemingly decided to take Theo along with him. The chimera couldn’t help but notice how Liam seemed even more apprehensive ever since they arrived as if he was waiting for someone to jump out at them. That, set off alarm bells for Theo, and now he was wondering if the problem wasn’t here, and not back in Beacon. Remembering back, he made a connection with Liam’s strange behaviour starting not long after he got back from the game out this way, and Theo followed after Liam as they walked down the street towards the college campus.</p><p>Looking to Liam, something didn’t sit well at the thought that if something was happening here that had caught the wolf’s attention. Theo didn’t have any direct contacts here in Los Angeles area, and he had plans to make cultivate them already with Liam planning on going to school here, but now he was thinking he might start a bit sooner than planned. As it was, it was something Theo worried about, Liam coming here for school, two hours between Beacon and LA. Two hours, less if Theo ignored the speeding limit, and let’s face it if Liam was in trouble, he wouldn’t care about speeding, but even speeding, it was not a time lag that Theo found acceptable if the Little Wolf got into a bind.</p><p>Arriving at the campus, Liam looking at him with a wide smile, the closer they got to Liam going to college, the more unsettled Theo felt about him moving away, especially today, with how strange Liam had been acting lately.</p><p>“Oh, we should absolutely go to this!”</p><p>Theo glanced over to where Liam was walking over to one of the notice board and pulling off one of the colourful printed flyers,</p><p>“Football?”</p><p>Smirking,</p><p>“It’s not Thanksgiving Liam, why would you want anything to do with football let alone going to an actual game?”</p><p>That was the one time Theo had seen Liam into a football game, Thanksgiving when Liam had joined David, the some of the rest of the pack all getting together to watch the game before the massive chaotic meal that they’d enjoyed. With everyone home for that holiday, it had been insane, and ironically, the weird obsession with the football game had been the least of it. </p><p>“Oh come on Theo, school spirit! Cheer on the UCLA team, Go Bruins!”</p><p>Theo couldn’t help but chuckle low, shaking his head at how ridiculous Liam looked right then, punching his hands into the air like he was some muscled cheerleader ready to tackle the opposing team himself. </p><p>“How about we see how Corey and Mason feel about it after the meeting.”</p><p>Liam nodded eagerly, his bright grin growing, he was sure that Mason and Corey would agree when he explained his idea. The football game would be a perfect chance to get eyes on the Theo Imposter, sure, it would be risky having Theo near enough to the imposter that it could get Theo’s attention, but, Liam was counting on the fact that Theo had even less interest in football than Liam did. No doubt Theo would just tune out completely and ignore the game which would be perfect. </p><p>“Alright, come on, let’s go check out the dorm building, not sure if we’ll be allowed in, but at least I’ll be less likely to get lost on the way there my first day.”</p><p>This time he didn’t wait for Theo to agree as he reached out and grabbed his arm to pull him along. He really wanted to check out the sports centre, but considering he wasn’t sure that the imposter wouldn’t be around there without being covered in football gear hopefully obscuring his stolen face like he would be tonight, he was going to deal with the dorms instead. </p><p>So far, this trip was perfect. Theo wasn’t any the wiser to what was happening, and hopefully, Corey will be one step closer to securing that scholarship!</p><p>“I can not wait until you are your roommate’s problem this time next year.”</p><p>Liam made a face at the smug smirk on Theo's at the inference that Theo just was waiting to get rid of him, sure it was the furthermost thing from the truth, it was what it was.</p><p>“Please, we both know you’re going to miss me.”</p><p>Theo just smiled softly as he followed along, Liam not letting his arm go, and Theo not pulling away. Oh, he would miss him, as annoying as he could be sometimes, he would miss him every day he was away at school, and not just because he was worried about what trouble he could get to on his own.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Kudos and Comments are love!</p><p>Find me on tumblr <a href="https://bobbersb-fandomfun.tumblr.com/">here</a>, send me love, rants, prompts, you name it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. and the hammer drops</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>At the game, the truth comes out.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If Liam thought the crowd watching the lacrosse game in Beverly had been intimidating, that was nothing compared to the hubbub of a college football game here. It felt like those massive games you see on TV almost and holy hell if he didn’t have supernatural healing, he was sure he wouldn’t end up with a few bruises just from getting elbowed by people passing by him in the stands. Mason had seemed really positive about the meeting with the coach and sports coordinator earlier, Corey was being cautious, but Liam he was optimistic with what Mason had told him about the comments about what Corey could look forward to in the sports program at the school.</p><p>Surely they wouldn’t be talking like that if he wasn’t high up on the list of potential scholarship recipients! There was also the fact that the coach had suggested that while Corey was in town, he should meet with one of the other sport scholarship students. That, told Liam everything, why would he be trying to integrate him if he wasn’t sure of the result? By the time the meeting was over, Corey had agreed to the coach’s suggestion for lunch tomorrow. The only problem with that was it would cut into investigation time, but, Mason and Corey could head out after lunch, Corey getting that scholarship was important, and Liam refused to be disappointed he was getting an edge with this.</p><p>He’d messaged Mason and Corey about the game and his thoughts on why they should go, to a football game of all things, when none of them was very involved or interested in that game. Thankfully, Mason actually agreed that there was likely a low chance that Theo would catch on to the imposter with the crowd and everything else keeping the chimera distracted from specific players. Liam admittedly was proud that he’d come to that conclusion himself, and he didn’t have to put together a string of reasons why this could work to convince the other boys. When Mason and Corey both agreed in front of Theo, there was nothing he could say against it, so here they were, crowding into the stands with the football field lit up and waiting for the game to begin.</p><p>Liam didn’t really care about the other team, just the blue and gold of the home team, the UCLA Bruins, soon enough, Corey and Liam would both be in the blue and gold, and he couldn’t wait, but more to the point, he was watching rapt, trying to be covert with Theo right next to him, to spy the Theo imposter. It was too easy to spot the Parker guy, the damn tall one with the blonde hair and Liam so hated him in return for being so obvious, he didn’t want to notice him, he didn’t ever want to even look at him again, but he was right there.</p><p>Oh, there he was, there was the imposter. Liam took in a deep breath and focused on controlling his reaction, the racing heartbeat at the discovery, and the flood of his chemosignals in turn. He had no idea what he’d be giving off, he felt too many things right now, but he was doing his best to keep his chemosignals blank and giving nothing away. As the same started, they watched the players with their helmets on, obscuring their faces some, but Liam kept his eyes on number 83, the imposter that everyone else knew as ‘Asher Adams’. So the game began, and while Liam was tracking the players in the game, he really didn’t care about the way they were playing, just that number 83, didn’t mean he couldn’t pretend he cared. It was sports, it was easy to seem like he was swept up in the euphoria of the crowd.</p><p>So, they watched, they cheered along with everyone else when a touchdown was scored and a goal kicked. Theo rolled his eyes with a smirk as Liam nudged him when he didn’t join in. As the game went, Liam thought that they were going so well, but they didn’t even make it to half time before everything fell apart.</p><p>The imposter made a touchdown, which wasn’t the problem in the end, but what was the problem was the commentary over the speaker. The commentary whipped up the crowd in a frenzy announcing that Asher Adams got a touchdown for the UCLA Bruins. There was a moment after that was announced, and then Liam heard it, a low growl sounded beside him,</p><p>“Liam.”</p><p>Looking over to Theo, seeing the tense look of his jaw with the growl, he couldn’t have possibly have recognised the imposter in full gear, right? Theo was barely paying attention to the game, but, now he was looking at Liam with that grumpy annoyed look he got. The one that said he was completely done with whatever stupidity Liam was getting up to. Not that he’d say it to either of them, but that look was uncannily a lot like the same look Mason got sometimes… for the same reason. Liam would be offended, but it was what it was. Putting the most open and innocent look on his face, the one that got him called clueless and naive. The way Theo looked at him now though, was quite clearly unimpressed.</p><p>“You said this weekend was about helping Corey.”</p><p>Liam swallowed as he tried to keep calm, he didn’t even risk a glance at Corey and Mason even he was desperate for a distraction for Theo right now, instead, he tried to look earnest in his reply, shocked at what Theo could possibly think was going on.</p><p>“It is! Of course, it is! Why else would we be here but for Corey’s scholarship!”</p><p>It was, it really was, it was just not the ONLY reason they were here after all. Watching as Theo’s eyes narrowed, and his eye flickered down to Liam’s chest for the barest of moments before raising back to Liam’s eyes, dammit, he knew he was screwed. Freaking hearty beat just had to skip that time now didn’t it?</p><p>“Please Liam, you are a horrible liar, you still can’t hide your heartbeat and chemosignals if you’re life depended on it.”</p><p>“But-”</p><p>Liam had been trying so hard, and doing so well before now!</p><p>“I’ve known you’ve been up to something for weeks now, I just never thought it involved my twin brother.”</p><p>It took him a moment for the last part to sink in, at first stuck on the fact that Theo had known he was hiding something all along. Yes, there had been moments that he wondered if Theo was just playing with him in pretending to not know, guess he kn- wait…</p><p>Three heads all turned to look to Theo, shocked, incredulous, as what Theo had just said fully kicked in, turning everything that Liam had been thinking upside down.</p><p>“Twin?!”</p><p>Since when did Theo Raeken have a TWIN?!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are love!</p><p>This weekend is slightly all over the place, not sure I'll get more up for a few days, but I will try. I.. feel bad, lol, that this is where I leave you hanging.... I did not do this on purpose, I promise! XD</p><p>Feel free to complain in the comments if you feel the need :P</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. rise and shine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Asher needs to be up to get ready for the day, meanwhile, JJ happily invites himself along.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Had a rough weekend, still not great but hopefully, you enjoy some more goodness with Asher &amp; JJ today!</p><p>Also, again, I know nothing about how scholarships officially work, this is all fiction pulled out of my head.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Asher was not a morning person after a night game, he wasn’t. Whether it was his post-game workout or the celebratory party for their win that JJ always managed to tempt him into with his messages after he washed off, a night game tended to lead to quite a late night. Asher knew he was a bit of a masochist sometimes, especially when it came to JJ and parties. JJ knew just how to persuade him to go to the after-game bash, how to entice him knowing that going he wouldn’t be able to do anything near what he wanted when he saw JJ on the dancefloor. Watching his body move to the beat of the music, seeing him laugh, smile, and all he wanted to do is curl his hands around those hips and move with him. Asher wasn’t a big dancer at parties, not when it came to JJ… and yet, JJ was the one that could get him to dance even when he didn’t want to.</p><p>Unfortunately, parties after a game, with all their teammates around, dancing how they’d both enjoy, wasn’t to happen.</p><p>Didn’t mean they couldn’t dance when they got back to their dorm apartment, and oh, did they! At least, they did until clothes started coming off and they enjoyed each other in an entirely different way.</p><p>So, yes, it had been quite the late night, and Asher groaned softly as his hand snapped out to hit at his alarm clock.</p><p>“Ash, what-”</p><p>“Shhh go back to sleep baby.”</p><p>Pressing a kiss to the back of JJ’s shoulder as he shifted back from his boyfriend to pry himself away and out of bed even if it was the last thing he wanted to do now. While getting up in the morning to go for a run before classes weren’t out of the ordinary, or even get a bit of a work out in if the weather didn’t permit his run, usually after a night game, a sleep-in was always the way. A morning sleep-in cuddling up with JJ was the best therapy after the torture of watching him dance without him at the damn party. So dragging himself up was the last thing to do, but yesterday before the game, he’d gotten the oddest visit from the head of the sports department.</p><p>Asher knew the man already, he was the one that dealt with his scholarship details, and when it came down to it, being on his good side was the better practice when your ability to go to college hinged on him to a degree. When the head of the sports department that could destroy your scholarship asked you for a favour, they were pretty much guaranteed a yes. It wasn’t like what the man was asking was anything horrible, and Asher hadn’t had anything but a lazy day sleeping-in with JJ planned anyway.</p><p>So he dragged himself up, went through his early morning routine, and was in the middle of making a decent breakfast when he heard the bedroom door click and he smiled as he watched a sleepy JJ pad his way out from the bedroom dressed in nothing but his boxers.</p><p>“Morning sleepy head.”</p><p>Setting JJ’s morning coffee out, as much of a party animal his boyfriend could be, a morning person the day after it was safe to say, he was not. Their fancy coffee machine was one indulgence that they both were then happy for. As it was, thanks to early morning practices and Asher had his routine of how to wake JJ up down pat at this point.</p><p>“Why, are we up at the ass crack of dawn Ash?”</p><p>Chuckling, it wasn't even close to that early, but for JJ, he was sure it certainly felt like it was that early!</p><p>“I told you to go back to sleep.”</p><p>He was dishing out the omelettes he’d been making onto their plates, of course, he made two, even if JJ hadn’t been up, he’d have been starving by the time he did drag himself up. Having food on hand always made JJ’s mood so much better when he finally dragged himself out of bed after a night partying it up. Besides, omelettes were so much better than crappy breakfast bars when they needed to eat on the go.</p><p>As for cooking, Asher loved his boyfriend, but he was not adept in the kitchen, Asher on the other hand, well he’d learned a lot of things he’d relied on his parents for after everything with his family had taken a turn. His father wasn’t always someone he could count on, and his mother, he barely saw her these days. Not that he could blame that all on her, their relationship had never been the same after the truth came out. Sure, they tried to put it behind them during senior year, but it was different. It was hard to trust after everything that had happened, she can say she did it not wanting to hurt him all she wanted, but he’d been abandoned, and homeless. For not hurting him, it had hurt more than she could possibly imagine.</p><p>“As if I can sleep with your side of the bed cold.”</p><p>JJ could say he didn’t like to cuddle till he was blue in the face, but it was a bald-faced lie, and Asher couldn’t say he minded. It was good being able to wake up together here.</p><p>Smirking,</p><p>“Well, I was asked for a favour from Mr Gillus before the game yesterday, a lunch with a potential candidate for a sports scholarship. Apparently, he heard I was interested in lacrosse…”</p><p>Setting their plates on the breakfast bar as he spoke, his coffee poured and now in hand as he looked over the rim of the mug pointedly towards his boyfriend, who got his wide unapologetic grin. The only way Asher could ever be said to have anything to do with lacrosse was from JJ dragging him to Riley’s games.</p><p>“So the new guy, lacrosse player, nice. Can I come?”</p><p>No, JJ didn’t ask Asher if he wanted him to come, because he knew Asher, and he would never easily admit to wanting him to come for something simple like this. So asking for permission was far more likely to get him an affirmative answer than just a shrug telling him, it was up to him.</p><p>“Yea, sure, I mean, if he actually wants to talk lacrosse, be better if you were there.”</p><p>Smirking, as much as he went to JJ brother’s games, doesn’t mean he really has much of an idea of the game and its specific details. It was like asking someone who hated football, to explain the game. Not that Asher hated lacrosse, but outside of getting the ball into the net using those sticks with nets, he didn’t know much more than that. The rules, the fouls, the intricacies of the game could be all over the place, just like football.</p><p>“Alright, how long do I have?”</p><p>Digging into their omelettes,</p><p>“I was thinking to leave in about an hour and a half?”</p><p>Time to eat, shower, change for lunch, though, that depended on JJ, but considering it was just lunch at a cafe, shouldn’t be something he wanted to primp to high heaven over. He would never, ever, call his boyfriend high maintenance, he enjoyed the outcome as much as JJ did. Not to mention, JJ never complained about Asher’s constant workouts, they weren’t just for the sake of the team either, running, working his body, it kept his mind clear, and when he didn’t, he didn’t always have the best mindset. It was better than he used to be, but he would never have gotten through his high school years without working himself physically as he did.</p><p>“Can I negotiate for two?”</p><p>Asher just grinned as he swallowed a bite of his omelette,</p><p>“Two hours works fine.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are love!</p><p>You can find me <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bobbersb-fandomfun">here</a>, if you wanna chat!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. not the truck!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After the game things did not go down well Liam, and now Theo is faced with friends, and threats.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Liam was not happy. He really wasn’t. Theo wasn’t talking to him, and he didn’t think Liam was the one that had any right to be angry here. Liam, in reality, wasn’t angry, he was hurt. Hurt in a way that he couldn’t explain, not without saying things that he just… couldn’t. Of all the things that were caught in this, he couldn’t let his feelings fall in the blender and have this mess explode all over them. Well, no, it felt like it already had, but at least Liam really was the only one that had been hit. Theo, well, he was fine, he was safe, he had a brother, no one was out to get him, no one was out to hurt him.</p><p>It hurt because Theo knew, he’d known about his twin since even before he met the Dread Doctors it would seem, and hearing that last night after they left the game, it had felt like the rug was pulled out under Liam. Theo practically knew everything about him, his life, his family, his history with his bio-father, and this massive secret made him wonder if he knew Theo at all and if it was all just a game for him. Calling Theo out on that last night, to hear Theo forcibly point out that the only reason he knew everything about Liam was that he shoved it down his throat, what did he expect?</p><p>That had been the end of that argument. Liam had fallen silent, well, after breaking Theo’s nose anyway, twice. Of course, he did, it was all he could do to soothe rage that stemmed from the pain at the feeling of his heart metaphorically clenching in his chest, and no, he wasn’t going to compare it to Theo ripping out his heart, not with what he’d been through, but fuck did it hurt. </p><p>His own fault really, Liam didn’t need to reminded that what he felt for Theo wasn’t returned, and never would be, but there it was. The reminder. </p><p>So, Theo wasn’t talking to him, and Liam hadn’t really talked to him this morning either. It had been an interesting time last night, this morning, considering they were sharing a hotel room with Mason and Corey, two beds, and no way he was going to ask Mason or Corey to swap. Sleeping beside Theo had been painful, and laying there, looking over to Theo’s back, the only way he’d slept was doing the same, shifting on his side looking away from the first chimera. He hated this, he hated all of this.</p><p>He couldn’t even blame the imp- Asher, he couldn’t blame the Asher for this. Not Asher, not his boyfriend, not even Theo, Liam, was the only one that could guard his feelings, and he was never really good at that. </p><p>Sitting there in the cafe, waiting for whoever this guy the coach has sent to meet Corey, Theo off, wherever. Liam had come with Corey and Mason because being alone with Theo right now, wasn’t something he thought he could handle. The original plan for him to distract Theo today while Mason and Corey went to investigate the… Asher, well no need for that now, not even after their lunch meeting. They could just head home early if they wanted.</p><p>Hearing Mason and Corey talk among themselves, Liam took in a breath looking over to his friends with a slightly forced smile, he was not going to make this awkward, and he wasn’t going lash out again, he wasn’t, he was going to sit here and support Corey, that was what he was going to do. The weekend might have started with dual motives, but that was gone now, Theo could talk to Asher or not, the was his choice, not Liam's. What he’d been worried about, what he’d been terrified of for weeks, was pointless now.</p><p>At the sound of the door, Liam’s eyes were drawn to the entrance as they were expecting this guy to arrive any minute, but it wasn’t some college guy walking in, it was Theo. Of course.</p><p>“I’m going to go get us some water.”</p><p>Anything to distract him from dealing with these feelings, he just couldn’t right now. When they went home, he could then, he could get time to himself and handle it, but right now, he needed to just shove it aside… and try not to break Theo’s nose again. It was not easy to love Theo Raeken, not when he also made him so fucking hurt and angry at the same damn time.</p><p>As Theo approached the table, Liam was standing up to walk away, and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. This was so childish, Liam was just being ridiculous about this, he was. It would be a lie to say Theo didn’t feel a little bit guilty about the fight last night, it had been pure panic that had him throwing those words at Liam about how the little wolf forced his life on him, it was a lie. It was a lie that was designed to push Liam back because he couldn’t handle the fact that Liam wanted more, wanted him to tell him why he didn’t talk about things like his family, his brother. He’d never expected Liam ever to ask, of course, he didn’t, he already knew he had been the architect of Tara’s death, why would he want to know more than that?</p><p>There was so much more, but Theo didn’t want to talk about it, not now, not ever.</p><p>As Theo moved to sit at the table, Corey looked apologetic, while Mason, was looking at Theo expectantly.</p><p>“What now?”</p><p>Of course, Mason no doubt was blaming Theo for all this when he quite literally had nothing to do with the schemes that brought them here. Nothing at all. Mason always blamed Theo for shit even if he was only minorly connected to it, that was nothing new, and therefore not even remotely surprising.</p><p>“Go talk to him.”</p><p>“He’s the one with the problem Mason, not me. He is the one that invaded people’s privacy.”</p><p>“Oh my god, you are both so fucking obtuse. Liam only invaded anyone’s privacy because he thought someone was going to come and try to kill you, you imbecile.”</p><p>“Again, not my problem. He should be happy, no one wants to kill me.”</p><p>"That isn't the issue and you know it."</p><p>If it weren’t for Theo’s control over his own chemosignals and heartbeat, there’s be no hiding from any supernatural in the room just how the thought of Liam going to these lengths to just protect him affected him. Not just him protecting the pack, but for him, and only him. Yea, he knew Liam was the only supernatural in the place for the moment, but that was beside the point. It was better for everyone if the little wolf didn’t know, he couldn’t know. Theo wasn’t good for him, he wasn’t. Liam deserved so much better than him. </p><p>Sighing as Corey spoke up this time,</p><p>“Theo, we were all worried about you, but Liam did all the work on this.”</p><p>When Theo raised his eyebrow at the other chimera, again, not his problem, only for Corey to level him with a look that reminded him that he wasn’t always as sweet as most people seemed to perceive him as. At least not when it came standing up for his friends,</p><p>“Don’t make me sabotage your truck, and considering I have absolutely no idea about cars, who knows if you’ll be able to fix it after.”</p><p>With that look in his eyes and his invisibility, Corey would be the person that could do it too. Sighing, this was not his weekend.</p><p>“Fine.”</p><p>He’d go talk to Liam. Pushing himself up from the table, he shifted to head towards the bar counter of the cafe where Liam was waiting to be served.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are so much love!</p><p>You can find me <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bobbersb-fandomfun">here</a>, if you wanna chat!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. just wanted to say</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Theo takes a moment to smooth things over with Liam.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Liam’s jaw clenched as he stood at the bar, outright refusing to look to Theo as he approached. It was no surprise every muscle in his body felt tense, he’d been feeling so unhinged in the last few weeks, dealing with the frustrations of not understanding what was happening, and the distasteful jealousy even when he knew he didn’t need to be jealous of an imposter kissing someone else. Of Theo’s brother kissing someone else. But the feeling had been there, eating him up, and now, now that the worry that someone had been out to hurt Theo was gone, all that was left was the hurt that had come the night before, and that hurt, easily turned into anger with the fact that he wasn’t feeling so in control right now. It was a little bit of a surprise his fingers weren’t popping claws, or his eyes flaring shining gold, but he managed.</p><p>“Don’t do me any favours, I’d hate to feel like you were forced to be here.”</p><p>That was what Theo had said, that he’d forced his life on him. Yes, that was how Theo saw wanting him to have somewhere safe to live, so he could be happy, with a family. Theo was family, and it would seem according to the loner chimera, that was some horrible thing to endure. So yes, Liam was angry, but only because dealing with the sadness wasn’t going to be that easy. He loved Theo, and even if all he could be was some, annoying little brother to him, which was so obviously what Theo saw in him, the annoying little brother, that frustrated him at every turn. He just had to live with that.</p><p>“Come on, little wolf, I didn’t really mean that.”</p><p>Sighing, oh boy, he’d fucked this up. Theo was good at that, saying the worst thing possible, and it was always with Liam. With everyone else, he was good at picking his words carefully when he was frustrated. Playing his cards close to the vest. With Liam though, the very worst option came right out of his mouth even when he knew before he said them, that it was going to blow up in his face. It happened every time, he’d say things, and he knew Liam would take it the worst way possible.</p><p>A part of what he loved about Liam, was that he’d forced his life on him, and despite how he’d said it frustrated last night, it didn’t change that. Liam cared about people, sure he cared about them aggressively, but he cared. Okay, yes, Theo liked to think every time he got his nose broken, it was, something special. After all, who else did he break noses for like it was a fun hobby. Yea, no one, that was all Theo’s, and even if they couldn’t have what Theo would kill for, at least he had those damn broken noses okay. He’d take a broken nose every time rather than the way Liam was trying to ignore him right now.</p><p>“Li, I’m sorry. I got frustrated, if you’d talked to me, I’d have told you. I’d have told you about Asher, about how I found out I had a twin out there somewhere as a kid, but it wasn’t until I was with the Dread Doctors did I know who he actually was. By then he was better off without me so why bother thinking about him…”</p><p>Theo sighed, </p><p>“He’s some rich kid from Beverly, adopted by this fancy couple, while I was adopted by parents who,”</p><p>Theo swallowed, taking in a breath only to sigh slightly a moment later.</p><p>“Well, let’s just said the Dread Doctors weren’t the start of my problems.”</p><p>He knew no one would ever like to hear it, but those bastards that called him a failure had solved the biggest problem he’d had as a kid. Theo looked away from Liam as the wolf finally looked at him, he didn’t need to see that look he was sure was coming his way, the pity, about what he’d been through. There were good reasons that Theo didn’t like to talk about his family, and not just because he’d betrayed them by luring Tara to her death. </p><p>“Theo-”</p><p>“I just wanted to say thank you okay?”</p><p>Cutting Liam off before he could ask, or offer support, he didn’t need it, he didn’t deserve it. His adopted family was a thing of the past. If not wanting to talk about them wasn’t another reason he hoped never to see Asher face to face, then there it was. No doubt his brother would ask it, and what was he supposed to say, I know you’ve had a charmed life in Beverly but mine kind of sucked and most of it not only should you never want to know about it but could destroy everything you hold dear. Supernatural surgeries and experiments, murder and mayhem, all wrapped up in a kid that the normal doctors had said it was a miracle he’d somehow lived past his toddler years. Nope, Theo preferred to live his life now, not then.</p><p>“Li, you are the best alpha I know, I don’t think even Scott would have gone to those lengths worrying about me, to protect me of all people. You protect your pack better than any alpha I’ve ever met.”</p><p>And he had one or two, usually when they were trying to kill him due to his working with the Dread Doctors, but that was beside the point. Even if Liam was only trying to protect him because he was pack, he was still trying to protect <i>him</i>, and he wouldn’t lie, knowing that felt really damn good. Not that he thought Liam felt the way he did, he had no reason to, this was just protecting another member of his pack. He’d have done this for any of them, Mason, Corey, Nolan, Alec, but the fact he’d so definitively done it for Theo, meant everything.</p><p>Liam didn’t look away from Theo as the other man spoke, he hadn’t done it for just someone in his pack though, and he hadn’t done it as an alpha, acting or otherwise.</p><p>“I’ll always protect you, Theo.”</p><p>Even if Theo thought no one else would, Scott, Stiles, it didn’t matter. Liam would be there, even if Scott ordered him not to, he would be. Mason could think he was mental for it all he wanted, for being so loyal to a man that had tried to turn him into a weapon against his alpha, but Theo… Mason would do the same for Corey, and Corey HAD done that for Mason. Corey understood, after all, he’d turned against both the chimera pack, and Scott’s pack to protect Mason, and Liam was just thankful that trying to protect Theo, even if he hadn’t needed it, hadn’t come to that.</p><p>The girl behind the counter had perfect timing as she set the large bottle of ice-cold water in front of Liam now, along with the glasses for the table.</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>Theo reached for the cups while Liam picked up the bottle, looking over to the table where Corey and Mason were, and saw that they’d been joined by two more people. One who was half blocked, but Liam knew who it was from the half profile that he instantly recognised, and the other, taller boy, had been haunting his thoughts for weeks.</p><p>“Um, Theo, you ah remember how you just said your brother is better off without you? Well, he’s over there, with Corey and Mason.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are so much love!</p><p>You can find me <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bobbersb-fandomfun">here</a>, if you wanna chat!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. and the two shall meet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When the two brother's meet face to face, one tries to escape and the other, well, he'd prefer to deal with this insanity later. Will he be able to?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Asher would admit, the hardest part about his relationship with JJ, weren’t the moments he wished he didn’t have to hide, but the moments he wished JJ didn’t have to hide. Like walking down the street, and the brush of fingers from JJ’s hand telling him that his boyfriend wanted to lace their fingers together lazily like it was nothing, but he knew it was everything. JJ was a party guy, but there was so much simple kindness to him most people didn’t see. They saw the guy with the bronzed suntanned skin, the blonde hair, the muscles, but Asher saw the gorgeous, sometimes vulnerable, but still confident guy that KNEW his worth.</p><p>Thankfully, he put up with Asher not always being confident in his own.</p><p>Pushing the door open into the cafe, it was a little bit from the campus, but not so far they couldn’t walk here, finding parking would have been horrendous for sure. Glancing around the cafe, it wasn’t hard to spot the kid they were looking for. Asher had been given a basic description the day before of the high school senior and his boyfriend that the head of the sports department had met with the day before. The kid was smart to make the trek here, it showed initiative, Asher remembered the worry of trying to secure a spot last year himself.</p><p>Walking over to the table with the two boys,</p><p>“Corey, right? I’m Asher, Mr Gillus suggested I come by, say hello.”</p><p>Asher smiled at the kid only for him to look back and blink at him like a deer in headlights, he could practically see panic settling in,</p><p>“Or not?”</p><p>Glancing between the two boys and to JJ who shrugged, usually, this would be the point that JJ would jump right in with a grin and a joke, but this wasn’t their usual friends, and who knows with this kid.</p><p>“Oh um, yea, yea I’m Corey, sorry, strange morning.”</p><p>Asher just grinned at him as the kid seemed to push a laugh slightly,</p><p>“You sound nervous, you don’t need to be, not with me, I went through all of this last year.”</p><p>“Besides, now you’ve got the foot in the door, even getting hooked up with meeting football players, you’re practically in man, trust me.”</p><p>There was JJ, jumping in with his bright grin, enthusiasm and encouragement,</p><p>“I told him that, hi, I’m Mason, Corey’s boyfriend, though I have absolutely nothing to do with sports aside from having a hot boyfriend that plays.”</p><p>Asher couldn’t help laughing at that,</p><p>“Nothing wrong with that, this is,”</p><p>“JJ, Asher and I go way back, also on the football team, but my little brother plays lacrosse so I was roped in for any technical jargon you might need. Not that you need my opinion, your team beat my brother’s ass the other month, you’re golden there my friend.”</p><p>“That’s not what he's nervous about.”</p><p>A voice from the side has Asher glancing towards who spoke, only to be met with two other guys, and one of them…</p><p>“Doppelganger alert, fuck man, Ash this dude looks just like you! I mean, you got the better hair, but still.”</p><p>“He does not-”</p><p>Theo cut off Liam from saying anything stupid, honestly, he was going to argue with this other guy about Theo’s HAIR? Come on, little wolf, be realistic. Hair was not the issue here.</p><p>“Well this is awkward, but since I don’t need to be here, this is about Corey, I’m just going to-”</p><p>Setting the cups down for the water on the table, ready to make his escape. He’d just told Liam that Asher was better off without him, and he stood by that. Even without being sucked into the supernatural world, and that was the best option, Theo was what, a kid that worked in a grocery, stacking shelves and working checkouts? Asher was in college, going places, he didn’t need Theo, hell, Liam didn’t need Theo either, but the kid clung like a barnacle, never to let go. Not that anyone would hear Theo complain about it, not realistically anyway.</p><p>Of course, before he could get far from the table, there was a scramble of hissed remarks, and panicked whispers from Liam and Corey, while Mason was just studying the shocked expression of Theo’s brother. As Liam grabbed at Theo’s jacket, pulling him back, and not holding back either, any more and the threads of the material seams would start to come apart with how little the werewolf was going to let him leave.</p><p>Looking at the shorter boy, his voice low as he spoke to him, not wanting to make this any weirder for the others than it already was,</p><p>“Liam, let me go. Corey doesn’t need me here, it’ll go better without me.”</p><p>He was not going to be the one to screw this up for Corey, he had a lot to make up for still, and how he’d treated Corey while he was in his pack was included in that, he’d been a horrible alpha.</p><p>Before Liam could say anything, it was Mason that spoke,</p><p>“You didn’t know, did you, Asher?”</p><p>Theo and Liam’s attention was drawn back to the table they were barely moved from now, the bottle of water and glasses sitting innocently and wholly forgotten on the table between the other two pairs of boys.</p><p>Asher was staring at the boy that looked just like him, his hair a bit longer sure, but… what the hell, and then, then his name, looking over to one of the other boys, the one that has introduced himself as, shit, his name wasn’t important but what he said now,</p><p>“Know what?”</p><p>This was not the first strange thing in his life, but another boy with the same face as him, well, that was taking the cake, and then it was the boy with his face that answer the question,</p><p>“That you’re a twin? We were split up before we were adopted out.”</p><p>Whether because they couldn’t place them together, or one of their families only wanted one kid, didn’t matter really, they were twins, and they’d grown up completely apart. </p><p>A sick feeling settled in his gut,</p><p>“You must be mistaken I’m, I’m not…”</p><p>Of all the things, his parents had hidden things, lied, and hell, manipulated him over the years to get him to be what they wanted him to be, but never telling him he was adopted? That was a bit much wasn’t it? Hell, sure, the last couple of years had been insane, but before that, when things were calm, why not tell him then? Anything would be fucking better than staring at his brother after running into him randomly by accident!</p><p>Feeling a hand press carefully at his lower back, he knew, JJ’s touch grounding him instantly bringing him back from his mind starting to spin over things with his parents. Oh, Asher knew they weren’t in the best place with his relationship with either of his parents, but, surely…</p><p>Asher swallowed as he looked over to this other guy. A twin, he had a twin. More believable than having a doppelganger, or hell, a clone or something. A twin.</p><p>Taking in a breath, Asher did what he’d done through a lot of things when it came to his family, he swallowed down the feeling and plastered a smile on his face. He’d lied through his teeth plenty when it came to his parents and the issues that stemmed from them, what was one more time? He would put it aside, and deal with it later, later. Hopefully much later.</p><p>“Right, so, Corey.”</p><p>Grinning to the kid who looked more than a little awkward, and this time he didn’t blame him in the least. He’d feel awkward too if he wasn’t a hair's breadth from completely losing it.</p><p>“Everything else aside, do you have any questions about the sports program. Scholarship stuff?”</p><p>That was what he was here for, Asher, as horrible as it could feel sometimes, he focused on what he needed to focus on. If he didn’t, he’d be even more fucked up than he had been during high school, homeless had not been a good time in his life. </p><p>Looking at the younger boy, focusing on him, only him, not the others, one of whom was apparently his twin, that was a bit from the table. No, he was paying no attention to them, or anything that was connected to it mentally.</p><p>“Well, no, not really, most of my questions were answered yesterday. I ah, we really only came all this way, because…”</p><p>Letting his voice drift off as he glanced towards his boyfriend and back to the other two.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm sorry I keep leaving you on cliffhangers, but I write in small parts and I'm trying not to leave you hanging for very long, I swear lol!</p><p>Comment if you need to scream at me, and kudos, both are still love XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Liam did it.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Liam did this, Theo is under the firm belief that the little wolf should be the one taking the blame.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“I ah, we really only came all this way, because…”</i>
</p><p>“Because?”</p><p>Theo watched on as the two Beverly boys looked confused as Corey drifted off with his explanation and Ash prompted him to finish as the younger chimera looking over to Mason at a loss for what to say, how to explain the fuckery that had led them to come here to Los Angeles this weekend. </p><p>You know, that feeling that you get right as you see a trainwreck about to start? The one where you now it was going to be a hell of a mess and if only someone could step in and stop it before it happened. Glancing at Liam, Theo had to sigh, the idiots hadn’t even thought about what they were going to do if Asher caught on to them spying on him, now had they? This. This is why Liam going to college on his own was probably going to end in disaster. Sure Mason and Corey were going to be there, but they hadn’t managed to temper Liam this time, so hope for them being able to in the future was dwindling. Oh, Theo might love him, but the little wolf was like a bull in a china shop sometimes, doing things without thinking about the ramifications.</p><p>Well, this was his scheme, might as well let him take the blame for where it had landed them.</p><p>“Liam, they came here because of Liam.”</p><p>Knowing they might not realise which of the idiots he was referring too, and just to emphasize his point, he pushing the short werewolf forward a little earning himself an angry glare in return,</p><p>“This one. He has this thing, it's called being an imbecile with conspiracy theories. His latest one he concocted when he saw you the time they came up to play Beverly. What was it again Liam? Oh, that’s right,”</p><p>He pulled Liam back towards the table so they could sit down. If he was going to clean up their mess, he was going to get lunch out of this, and Liam was paying, whether Asher and JJ stayed for the rest of the mess or not.</p><p>“He was convinced you’d stolen my face for some nefarious means of stealing my identity, which might or might not have ended in you killing me. He wasn’t so sure on that last part. Right, Liam?”</p><p>Considering Liam couldn’t say what he’d been thinking when it came to his theories about Asher, not when he could smell that Theo’s brother and boyfriend were very much human, he had no choice but to nod slightly, reluctantly, tense and annoyed that Theo seemed to be enjoying this far too much with the amusement and sarcasm in his tone. Then he was nudging him slightly,</p><p>“Speak up little wolf, I think you owe Asher an apology.”</p><p>Theo could only guess that he’d at least cyberstalked his brother to find out more about him after their game at Beverly.</p><p>“Fine.”</p><p>Half growling at Theo under his breath as he glared at him slightly defiantly before he brought his focus back over the table towards, Asher, who looked like he might be thinking Liam was just a little bit insane. Not exactly a new look on that face, unfortunately, and it wasn’t like Liam could really blame him either. Theo was making him sound like a mental headcase, coming all this way just because of some conspiracy theory!</p><p>“Asher, I am sorry, for attempting to interfere in your life. It was wrong of me.”</p><p>The tense way Liam spoke those last three words had Theo smirking slightly, he knew Liam still didn’t agree he was in the wrong, he’d been trying to protect Theo, but he had gone a bit overboard. All he’d had to do was talk to Theo and everything would have been cleared up before it got this far.</p><p>Asher really didn’t know what to think as he looked to the guys across the table. He couldn’t for the life of him think of what he might have thought if he saw someone that looked just like him or someone he cared about. The fact that this, Liam guy, had freaked out, well he supposed he couldn’t blame him for that, even if it was a bit mental to do all of this, hell.</p><p>“Well, I suppose its alright, no one got hurt, and Corey got a leg up for his scholarship in the process, so, everything is fine.”</p><p>Smiling, he wasn’t even going to think on the glance from JJ, he knew he was lying despite the grin on his face. Screw everything else that they’d done to him, his parents had been lying to him his entire life, everything was <i>not fine.</i> Asher was on the verge, and it was all he could do to just pretend everything was perfectly fine for just a little bit longer. Long enough so he could be at home, and yelling in frustration when he wasn't surrounded by people in public.</p><p>“How about we start over, yea? I’m Asher Adams, this is JJ Parker, we play football, and while his brother is on the Beverly team, I don’t know shit about lacrosse.”</p><p>Hell, he might have wondered once or twice if he would have much to do with football either if his father hadn’t put so much emphasis on it which had led to most of Asher’s life connecting his success at football to his self-worth. On the upside, he wouldn’t have his scholarship without it and having a team support you, could mean everything.</p><p>JJ laughed slightly,</p><p>“Though, Corey, Ash did pick you and shorty here out as the standouts of your team, while not knowing shit about lacrosse still. My boy is good at analysing team sports at least.”</p><p>And oh did JJ sound so proud at that fact, Asher had done his best to help the coach during his senior year. Discussing plays, and analyzing their opposing teams during the year to put together their best plan of attack to win.</p><p>Corey couldn’t help but snicker slightly at the soft but outraged sound from Liam as JJ referred to him as 'Shorty'. Theo might comment on Liam's height all the time, but JJ was as far from Theo as you could get. Theo, who was looking just as amused now himself, nudging Liam beside him again, it was annoying Liam time it would seem,</p><p>“You hear that Liam, your plan to get Corey noticed worked perfectly. Even someone who didn’t know much about lacrosse could see it.”</p><p>The look the beta wolf threw at Theo now, held so many promises of a broken nose in the first chimera’s future. While it sounded like Theo was complimenting Liam with the sentiment of what he was saying, Corey had no doubt he was probably just as equally making fun of Liam with his words, if not entirely.</p><p>“So, who’s hungry, cause I’m starving and Liam is paying. What, come on Li, it’s only fair after dragging everyone here under false pretences.”</p><p>A pointed look from Theo to Liam followed, and some annoyed, sounding whispered words from one to the other only to end in a frustrated sigh. Oh to be a fly on the wall when those two finally got to talk privately after this!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are love!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. train wreck waiting to happen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Confronting his parents for the truth, Asher has had enough.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lunch, in the end, had gone rather smoothly, Asher having learned that Theo didn’t live with his family anymore, but with Liam’s, and the way it was said, had Ash pausing, the question on the tip of his tongue as to why. He felt horrible at the thought that maybe he wasn’t the only one with a fucked up family, guilty that the thought had crossed his mind, and worse when for a slight moment it had almost made him feel better about how shitty it felt that his parents had been lying to him. Whatever the reason, Theo didn’t seem to want to talk about it, and Asher wasn’t going to ask in front of everyone, he knew better than anyone that issue when it came to family, wasn’t something for a public forum. </p><p>He’d left the cafe with a piece of folded paper in his pocket with Theo’s number on it, along with Liam’s. Not that he’d asked for that one, Liam had just pulled the paper away from Theo and said how if Theo won’t answer just call him and he’ll make Theo call him back as soon as he could. Asher had just smiled, before even opening his mouth to ask how long they’d been together, JJ beat him to it, only for Mason and Corey and groaned saying they weren’t, followed by Liam’s flustered confirmation of that fact and Theo going quiet on the matter. He didn’t know his brother, but he had noticed he had a habit of silent, watching people. Watching Liam. Huh. Okay.</p><p>It was after they left the cafe that Asher was thinking about what he’d learned over lunch. Not just about Theo, and yes, about Theo. Who would go out of their way about faking being a twin just to pretend someone was adopted, you wouldn’t, it was insane, and their story about Liam’s conspiracy theories was too preposterous not to be true. Really thinking about all of it came down to one thing, he was nineteen, and his parents had never told him he was adopted. He tried thinking back, could there have ever been a time when they needed to tell him and didn't, such as big hospital emergencies where his family medical history was needed or anything. None of that. But, even if they were waiting to tell him until he was old enough to handle, he was old enough, hell, he was legally an adult.</p><p>The argument could be made that they didn’t think it was important, and maybe it wasn’t, unless they knew he had a twin out there, and might want to know him, then that was different. Theo had known he had a twin, why would he have looked into Asher if he hadn’t known? What point would it have been unless he knew, so, he figured his parents had told him.., oh he didn’t know, but he needed to know why. Why had his parents not told him?</p><p>So, he had asked to have a family dinner the next night, no restaurant, just a meal at a house, and he was tempted to suggest one of theirs but he knew better. That was how it came to be that they came to his instead. He was cooking them dinner, and they were sitting at the simple dining table in his college apartment, also a good reason JJ was just in the next room when he brought the subject up with his parents.</p><p>They’d tried to deny it, they’d both, for the first time in a long time, seemed to agree on something. To lie to his face and tell him he wasn’t adopted.</p><p>It had been when he told them that he met his brother yesterday that there was an awkward silence. His twin brother.</p><p>Dinner quickly fell apart after that. There was yelling, and blaming, and Asher had just sat at the table while his parents argued with each other about who wanted to tell him, why they couldn’t tell him, that they were doing it for his own good, that it would have ruined his chances… the excuses, the arguments just kept going on and on, and Asher was just sitting there at the table, his arms crossed in front of his chest, staring at them. They were arguing about him. They were arguing about him as if he wasn’t even there and Asher was just, done.</p><p>A glance to the doorway to see JJ’s concerned face, and with a nod and a smile, he was done.</p><p>“Get out.”</p><p>The words were quiet but firm.</p><p>They didn’t hear him, too wrapped up in themselves and being right to even notice he said a damn thing.</p><p>
  <i>“Get. Out.”</i>
</p><p>His teeth clenched when he thought for a second they had heard, but no, they just kept arguing between the pair.</p><p>
  <i>
    <b> “GET OUT!”</b>
  </i>
</p><p>Then, there was silence, both of them looking at him shocked as if he was the one with appalling behaviour.</p><p>“Get out, I don’t care where you go, what you do, but you are to leave, now.”</p><p>He had let himself be manipulated and pushed around enough by them. Their choices had had such a bit effect on his life, and he was done putting up with their shit.</p><p>He wasn’t some, some possession for them to fight over. Not with divorce, blackmail, lies, no. </p><p>That is how it was feeling, that as much as they said they loved him, that it was always something. Pulling him one way, the other, and he wasn’t going to sit here and fucking take it.</p><p>Then came the sweet words, and the apologies, and the ‘explanations’. Standing up from the table with a sigh,</p><p>“I don’t care, mum, dad, I don’t care. Nothing you can say right now can change the fact that I have sat right here, and listened to you squabble between each other over me, and my life when neither of you has any say in it anymore. I don’t care, and you are both to leave, now.”</p><p>It broke him a little when his parents just huffed then like they were the ones that were being mistreated as if he was the one being insensitive to their feelings.</p><p>JJ saw them out, and Asher didn’t even acknowledge the flick of the lock that sounded in the deathly silent apartment after the door closed. He was just standing there, staring at the dinner table, three places made, their food barely touched.</p><p>He felt so empty right then, like yelling at them, demanding that they leave, had drained him of all the energy, all the emotion he had left to even care anymore. </p><p>Asher loved his parents, he hated them right now, but he loved them, and it fucking <i>HURT</i> so badly because he did, he loved them, and yet he felt like utter shit when it came to them.</p><p>There were good times, and there were fucking horrible times. The worst feeling was the times when it got so bad, and he managed to help mend things with them, only for it to slide back to feel even worse than it had before.</p><p>This was the worst it had felt yet. Something had broken tonight, maybe it was the realisation that all of these arguments, all seemed to come to the same thing, that he felt like he was just something to fight over these days. The happy family was gone, the loving parents were only there when it was a useful facade to them, and otherwise, there was, this.</p><p>Asher hadn’t realised JJ had come back to find him until his boyfriend was wrapping his arms around him, and looking up, seeing those bright blue eyes through the haze of the unshed tears he hadn’t even realized were there until he felt a wetness against his cheeks. With a soundless shudder, he was grasping onto JJ’s shirt, and leaning into his chest, the soft sobbing muffled into the front of his shoulder as it all came tumbling out.</p><p>Oh he hated this, he hated feeling so weak, he hated being so vulnerable, but with JJ, it was different. There was only so much he could keep inside, and his parents had been chipping away at him what felt like forever.</p><p>He wasn’t a fucking toy for them to fight over.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are love!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. road trip?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Asher isn't always as put together as he tries to be. You don't have to be supernatural to be messed up in the world.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Over the next few weeks, Asher kept in contact with Theo, it was nothing overly intense, and both of them pointedly chose not to mention their adopted families. That wasn’t to say Asher didn’t learn plenty about Liam and his parents, along with their friends, Corey and Mason he’d met, then there were other friends that went to school with Liam. Asking about Theo’s friends, his brother seemed to just change the subject a lot, which was odd. Asher knew he had friends that weren’t as close with JJ, and JJ had friends that Asher tolerated with a grin even if he didn’t want to, those frat guys for one, but that was beside the point. Sometimes he did wonder if JJ hadn’t joined the frat because of him, instead, they got their apartment together, living just off campus, but close enough they might as well have been on campus. Asher remembered swearing black and blue he’d have been fine in the dorms, he’d survived living in a car, he could survive living in a dorm with a stranger who he may or may not want to strangle at some point. Hey, it happened. JJ had just laughed, claimed his choice was purely selfish because he needed his Asher time, and if he had to share him with a roommate, there would be problems.</p><p>Asher’s bet was that he knew how much the dorm fees would make it harder for him. It wasn’t cheap living in the dorms, everyone assumed it was better than living on-campus, it wasn’t as far as Asher was concerned. This way, he got time with his boyfriend, and actually knew what he was eating instead of dealing with the cafeteria. If he also got the luxury of, at JJ’s insistence, that upscale coffee machine. That he wasn't going to complain about!</p><p>A free weekend came up, how the hell it happened, Asher didn’t know, but Saturday morning practice was cancelled, which had JJ looking over to him with a grin. His eyes had lit up after Asher had read the message aloud, JJ’s phone had pinged at the same time, but reading the message they both knew it was the same one, word for word.</p><p>“Road trip?”</p><p>Oh, JJ had been asking when he was going to visit Theo, check out where his brother lived. Neither of them had been to Beacon, at least, not in any memorable way. It would have been a football game and were probably more focused on the game than where they were after all. Now that he knew Asher’s brother was there, he was invested, and it was amusing if nothing else,</p><p>“I could ask what he’s up to?”</p><p>Before he could manage to open the message thread he had with Theo,</p><p>“Orr we could surprise him.”</p><p>JJ’s excited grin was infectious,</p><p>“He doesn’t like surprises.”</p><p>Oh, Asher had no doubt, Theo did not like surprises. The stories he’d been told about the things that Liam and his pack of friends, weird thing to call them, but Asher wasn’t going to say anything, each to their own. Anyway, Theo’s stories about the things Liam and his friends got up to and having to deal with the fall out that it sometimes entailed, or worse, gone dragged along into, Asher had absolutely no doubt, Theo did not like surprises.</p><p>“But that’s before you surprised him! He’s going to-”</p><p>“He’s probably working!”</p><p>He was, most definitely working. It wasn’t that Asher was <i>trying</i> to get out of this trip, but he didn’t want to annoy Theo, he didn’t want to invade into his life and make him feel like Asher wasn’t someone he wanted around. At this point, Theo was the only family member he had that didn’t want something from him, that didn’t have expectations, or, or need a reason to think he was worthwhile. All the progress he’d made with his parents over the past years had gone right down the drain, and in the weeks past every time either of them tried to talk to him, it was just more snipping about the other and how all of this problem, was the other’s fault. I’m sorry, should not be followed with, but your father, or, but your mother, as far as he was concerned right now.</p><p>“Let’s ask Liam.”</p><p>JJ was not letting this go, instead, he grabbed his mobile and brought up his messages and it made Asher raise an eyebrow curiously,</p><p>“You’ve been messaging Liam?”</p><p>And how did he not already know about this?</p><p>“Just a little bit, didn’t want to get in the way of the brothers.”</p><p>So he’d been messaging his brother's, well NOT boyfriend. Asher had told the truth to Theo about him and JJ, which JJ knew already, and had grinned like the sun was shining right on him. Asher knew it was something special to his boyfriend that he’d actually told someone without worry about how they had to seem around them, and if he was honest, it felt fantastic to him as well. Theo however, swore that there was nothing between Liam and him.</p><p>Nothing Asher’s ass, there was no way there was nothing going on, Theo was either being deluded, obtuse, or just plain lying. He couldn’t tell yet, maybe when he knew him better.</p><p>“Kay, so, yeah okay, Theo is working Saturday Morning, but he’s free in the afternoon and we’re invited for a family BBQ!”</p><p>JJ jumped up from his chair immediately talking about what he needed to pack for this trip, on one hand, it made him laugh slightly, not even a full three days, they’d leave after last class Friday and be back by Sunday night, and JJ was talking as if they’d be gone for a month. On the other hand, Asher was a bit worried that Liam had just invited them to something and Theo wasn’t going to be pleased with having them there when he hadn’t been the one to invite him. </p><p>A family BBQ, it wasn’t like some party here. He doubted it would be like one of the things his dad used to do to impress his colleagues and boss. Sure, it would be people he barely knew, but, different. Or, oh Asher had no clue what to expect now he was thinking about it, shit, what he completely fucked things up for Theo, he was living with Liam’s family, if they hated having them there for dinner, it could make things go sideways for him.</p><p>Sitting in the lounge, trying not to panic, not wanting Theo to hate him if he fucked up, when JJ was coming back out of the bedroom wondering if he should bring swimwear, it wasn’t like they were close to a beach or anything, and his eyes were drawn to Asher who hadn’t moved. He hadn’t moved, and he had a look on his face that was screaming with the anxiety that was settling in, the insecurities that something was going to happen to make his brother HATE him.</p><p>Family for Asher was not something that was unconditionally loving, it always came with a price. JJ hated what his parents had done to his boyfriend, when they’d first started dating officially Asher had seemed to think when things went wrong, JJ wasn’t going to stick around, and the whole thing about a hidden relationship… That had been JJ’s idea in the end. Asher had tried to call off this thing between them twice before they even called it dating towards the end of their senior year until JJ had gotten it out of him why. JJ would rather them be together, but so private about it, than lose Asher. He meant far too fucking much to him to lose.</p><p>“Hey, hey Ash, look at me, focus on me.”</p><p>JJ’s voice had dropped the excitement, to more soft energy, soothing as he all but climbed over Asher’s lap. Having dropped the clothes on the couch to the side, his hands moving to Asher’s face, gently cupping his boyfriend’s cheeks.</p><p>“This is going to be fine.”</p><p>“What if, if he doesn’t want me there? Just because Liam-”</p><p>“Hey, hey, call him, ask, I’m sure he’ll be okay with it. If he isn’t, we can take a trip to the beach for the weekend, soak up some rays, easy.”</p><p>Smiling slowly at the slight smile on Asher’s lips then, breaking through the expression that JJ fucking hated on Asher’s face. He’d never forgive his boyfriend’s parents for making him feel like he had to ask permission to fucking care about someone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are love!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. family bbq</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>JJ feels protective and needs Theo to help him with Asher.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Okay, so the family BBQ hadn’t really something that had already been planned, but when JJ had messaged Liam, the young werewolf had had a stroke of genius and decided that there had to be something to invite them too. Something that Theo couldn’t just veto, and having people there would hopefully make it less awkward for the two of them.</p><p>Theo hadn’t talked to Liam about Asher since they got back from LA, and he wasn’t sure where he stood. Whether Theo had forgiven him for snooping, and he really wanted Theo to forgive him, even if Liam still didn’t think he’d done anything WRONG trying to protect him! So, maybe he was hoping to give Theo a chance to get to hang out with his brother, all normal-like, proving he wasn’t some bad influence on Asher, then maybe he’d forgive Liam for snooping and invading into Asher’s life. Breaching the gap that Theo had kept between them for years. The Dread Doctors weren’t around anymore, he wasn’t as much of a danger, other dangers sure, but they were gone.</p><p>Liam had been overly surprised that JJ actually seemed pretty cool. He’d hated him, the vision of him kissing Asher had invaded his mind so horribly, he’d made out the older boy to be something horrible, he wasn’t. Liam couldn’t seem to hate him, even if he had what Liam wanted, a relationship with the man he loved, but after everything, Liam, he, he knew he couldn’t tell Theo. They were on rocky ground, and he had accepted that was just who they were, and risking losing Theo was never happening.</p><p>“I can not believe you did this Liam, and I had to find out when Asher called me!”</p><p>Right after work no less, he hadn’t even made it to his truck to drive to the gym when Asher had called, asking if he was sure it was okay if they come down that weekend for the family BBQ Liam had invited them too. Theo, he’d been about to throttle Liam when he heard that, but then swallowed, reading people over the phone wasn’t as easily done, but, Asher sounded a bit, hesitant? So Theo told him, that if he thought that he could put up with Liam’s insanity, and knowing Liam some of the guys would tag along so that was going to be a big bag of crazy, that Theo would love the back-up. That, that had made Asher laugh, and Theo instantly felt better. At least he made someone happy without having to try too hard, just agree to Liam’s scheme, even if it was half Liam’s fault with his invite.</p><p>Carting the large box of soda cans to the back yard where David was setting up the grill for them. Dr Geyer couldn’t stay the whole time, he had a late shift at the hospital, but he would be there long enough for dinner, aka, make sure Liam didn’t blow up the grill. Theo would never let him live it down, the last time they’d had a pack BBQ and Liam had all but set the thing on fire, thanks to Mason’s quick thinking, it didn’t blow them all up. A grill master, the beta werewolf, was not.</p><p>“Oh come on, it’s a good idea. You’ve been talking to Asher for weeks, and he had a free weekend, so why not.”</p><p>Liam grinned over to him, his arms full of the tray of meat that David would be starting to cook once he got the grill started. You’d think they were feeding an army, but this was a basic amount for a group of people that was really two werewolves, two chimeras, two teenage humans, and two reasonable adults, that wasn’t even counting just how much Asher and JJ would eat! As it was, Mason and Corey had been more than happy to come, and when Alec and Nolan found out about Asher coming to visit, they were both interested in meeting Theo’s brother, the normal one. The one that was probably less likely to threaten people and maim them, should the occasion call for it.</p><p>The rest of the puppy pack were already in the backyard, hanging out and tossing a football back and forth, Alec had brought it. He had been excited to hear about Asher and JJ being on the Bruin’s team, apparently, the wolf had had hopes to be on the team himself before everything with the hunters. Now, after running from the hunters, his transcripts had been screwed and he hadn’t gotten into UCLA, but he had gotten into the local college with Nolan so they were all going to have support in one way or another.</p><p>“Head’s up Liam!”</p><p>Looking over just in time for Alec to toss the ball towards him, he might not play, but he could at least catch a ball.</p><p>“Nice catch Dunbar!”</p><p>Hearing the new voice, he had been so focused on Theo that he hadn’t heard the car pull up outside,</p><p>“We’ll make a footballer out of you yet! What do you think Ash, I’d let him watch my back.”</p><p>Liam laughed at JJ’s remark,</p><p>“I’ll stick to lacrosse, but nice try.”</p><p>The taller man laughed coming over and slapping his hand to Liam’s back, and Theo had to smile. After the obvious tension that Liam had been feeling towards JJ that first day, it was good to see that the animosity that the younger man had held, something Theo could only assume had to do with the werewolf’s suspicions about Asher because Liam refused to talk about it, had faded away. Knowing JJ had kept in contact with Liam, probably to quiz him on Theo without interrogating his boyfriend, it wasn’t hard to see how those two had become fast friends once that tension had dissipated. </p><p>With Asher and JJ here, Jenna was bringing out the finger foods that would feed the growing boys to keep them from starving while the meat cooked. The woman was a saint putting up with all of them with barely two days notice, and yet, she could say jump, and Theo knew every single one of the boys in the puppy pack, would say how high. Even those of them that had good home lives and parents treated the women like she was practically a second mother. To the younger members of the wolf pack, she was like the vicious momma bear, and you did not mess with her cubs!</p><p>JJ came over to Theo as he was grabbing a drink, and the chimera noticed how careful the other boys smile was,</p><p>“I know Ash told you about us, so I’m not going to bother to make up an excuse why I care, but, could you maybe, take some time to talk to him, just you two. He probably hasn’t said anything, but, with his parents, its bad, and man, he was terrified about this weekend. He is so sure he was going to come here and you’d want nothing to do with him or some shit.”</p><p>JJ sighed,</p><p>“I’ll never forgive Asher’s parents for making him feel like family is something that’s conditional, and I swear if you do that to-”</p><p>“I get it. I’ll take care of it.”</p><p>While Theo had suspected things weren’t good for Ash with his family, hearing the concern in JJ’s voice, that he cared enough to say something, just sealed it. From what Asher had talked about with JJ, the guy pretty much got along with everyone, the all-around nice guy, he'd party all night, but a nice guy... until you hurt someone he cared about obviously.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are love!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. heart to heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Theo finds a moment to talk to Asher, and the awkward moment is disrupted.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t until after they’d all eaten that Theo took a chance to go over and talk to Asher. He had figured with some food in their bellies, it would make the night calmer, not that that was helping any as David headed to work, along with Jenna going inside and leaving the young men to their own devices.</p><p>Liam was in a heated debate over football vs lacrosse with JJ and Alec, the young acting alpha seemed to take it personally that one of his own flock was siding for the opposition, and yet every time he tried to pull one of his teammates into the conversation, Nolan and Corey were just sitting back enjoying watching Liam flounder. Theo couldn’t say he wasn’t a little amused himself as he moved to sit next to Asher, handing him another drink without a word.</p><p>“Aren’t going to go help him?”</p><p>Theo just grinned at Asher’s chuckled questioned, </p><p>“Oh I’m not big on either sport, I struggle with the whole team player thing, much better one on one.”</p><p>Not wrong there, the only person he’d ever actually be any good at playing alongside one person, and those in the know knew that playing was code for fighting, and the was Liam. Sure, they hadn’t had to fight side by side again since the war had calmed, not that it was over, but at least it was calm enough in Beacon Hills that the others were managing to finish up their senior year. The more that he thought about it, the more Theo was wondering about whether he could find a way to go with Liam and the others, but he had no reason, right? What was he going to do there? Wasn't like college was on the cards, he never actually finished high school, not to mention half of the transcripts he’d used to get back into Beacon Hills High, hadn’t even been genuine. The Dread Doctors hadn’t really made school a priority unless it suited what they needed him for wherever they went. </p><p>Theo was a very self educated man. It had its perks, and it also had its pitfalls, considering he wasn’t the most social person despite being rather good at pretending from time to time. He was always more comfortable observing, and finding the best way to attack a situation, should it need it of course. Now though, he was at a bit of a loss, as much as he wanted to talk to Asher, have what Liam would surely call a bit of a heart to heart, Theo was also deathly allergic to emotions.</p><p>Swallowing a mouthful of his soda, Liam’s parents vetoing beer, Theo could have easily swung some, not legally of course, but where was the fun in that? Besides only four people would have had any use for it, and the rest of them would have had to pretend to be tipsy. This way, they were all deprived of that joy and not just those with stupid fast supernatural metabolism. </p><p>Might as well just hit the nail on the head,</p><p>“I’m glad you came.”</p><p>Smiling slightly towards his brother,</p><p>“I’m not, good at this. I mean, I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to invite you. Liam is good at that whole thing, the, charging forward with reckless abandon, I’m, just… not.”</p><p>Chuckling roughly, yep there was the difficulty with emotions and putting words to them. Didn’t help anything that there was still a heavy feeling that being involved with Asher’s life was just going to cause him entirely fucking it up for him. </p><p>Asher glanced towards Theo as his brother seemed, well, he supposed maybe he was uncomfortable. Despite seeing an identical face in the mirror his whole life, Theo was not the easiest to read.</p><p>“Thanks, I was a bit worried about just showing up.”</p><p>Smiling slightly as his eyes were drawn back to the continued sports debate with the other guys,</p><p>“If it weren’t for JJ giving me a kick in the ass, probably wouldn’t have been game to just pick up and come down.”</p><p>Which from the sounds of it, Theo could understand.</p><p>There was a silence that stretched between them then, Asher felt awkward and not sure what more he could say to Theo, it was so much easier to talk to him through his phone, and a message. He could think about what to say and edit. Asher had learned from a young age, that different people in his life had different expectations for him, and giving in to them just made it easier to deal with. Theo, he had no clue.</p><p>It was Theo that spoke up though,</p><p>“Screw it, I’m throwing JJ under the bus,”</p><p>Asher couldn’t help but laugh at that,</p><p>“Go ahead, what did he do?”</p><p>The way Theo looked at him then, he knew that despite the joking tone between them, whatever it was was probably more serious.</p><p>“He said you were, have issues with your parents?”</p><p>Asher’s breath caught as he looked back to JJ, who was so animated talking to Liam right now, sighing softly, of course, he said something after his bit of a breakdown yesterday.</p><p>“Things haven’t really been, good, with them for a while. Years really. There have been good moments, sure, but there was always something coming up that would pull it right back down, usually because of me, least, that’s how it felt.”</p><p>Taking in a deep breath,</p><p>“This adoption thing has, changed things. Changed the way I see the things they’ve done through my life. The lies, the secrets… <i>living in my car after getting kicked off the football team.</i>”</p><p>Uttering that last part so quietly, barely able to breathe with those words, two years and remembering the feeling of his dad just kicking him out like that still smarted, but no less than his mother abandoned him, reason be damned. Not that he got a chance to dwell on those feelings when the sound of glass shattering was followed by JJ’s exclamation,</p><p>“Liam! Man are you okay?”</p><p>Everyone’s attention was snatched to see Liam standing there looking, somewhat panicked at the broken glass in his hand, even from here Asher could see the blood on his fingers from the shards of glass that was left of the cup he’d been holding.</p><p>“Shit, what happened?!”</p><p>Theo was moving over to the younger guy,</p><p>“Liam gets too excited sometimes, stupid adrenaline rushes, come on little wolf, first aid kit is inside.”</p><p>Asher was a little stunned as Theo dragged the other boy inside the house without another word, looking over to JJ who was as surprised as he was. Alec seemed to laugh slightly, while it sounded a bit off Asher just assumed he was as surprised as he was.</p><p>“Damn, Liam is a bad loser, football forever.”</p><p>Laughing with the other boys, getting upset enough over a silly argument to break a glass randomly, Alec was not wrong. Remind him never to argue with his brother’s non-boyfriend any time soon.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ooo Liam was eavesdropping, tsk tsk. Whoops!</p><p>Comments and kudos are love!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. shards of the past</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Theo remembers on a past he'd rather not speak of.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Liam stupidly let his strength get the better of him, not only smashing that glass in his hand but hard enough that he’d embedded shards of glass in his skin and drawing blood, Theo dragging him inside had been as much for Liam’s sake as hiding the fact that the werewolf healed inhumanly fast. Beacon Hills might know about the supernatural, but two boys that grew up in Beverly Hills did not. Similar names, very different places. </p><p>“You need to be more careful Little Wolf.”</p><p>Pulling him into the downstairs bathroom, where Jenna kept her first aid kit, Theo was pulling it out with an eye roll from Liam. They didn’t know if Asher of JJ would get curious and wander inside to check on Liam, but Theo hoped the other boys would be smart enough to reassure them he was fine. Still, Theo was covering his bases and at least making it appear to tend to Liam’s wounded hand. Really, he was just plucking pieces of glass from his skin and wiping the blood away as the cuts healed, one or two of them were a bit deeper than the rest and had Liam almost flinching as Theo extracted the curved glass.</p><p>Theo knew why Liam had overreacted, and it was an overreaction, despite what he had heard, Asher was fine. Hell, he was living with JJ in a typical college apartment, just like Mason Corey and Liam planned to split rent on next year as well. </p><p>“Who the fuck lets their kid live in their <i>car</i> over getting kicked off the football team?!”</p><p>The exclamation from Liam, hushed as it was for human ears, was exactly what Theo had expected. Liam didn’t know what it was like to have a family that expected certain things from you, that didn’t love him unconditionally. Theo saw it since he had moved in, how much the Geyer/Dunbar family loved, with all their hearts, and Liam’s parents expected nothing from him but to try his very best, and to be a good person. Liam beat himself up when he slipped even a little in both of those areas, and Theo, well, he knew if Liam’s parents knew even half the things Theo had done, they wouldn’t be as welcoming as they were. Liam knew though, and he somehow had decided that Theo had to stay. </p><p>Theo would agree though, the football team, was beyond harsh. Liam had gotten expelled from the private prep school he used to go to, and his parents had supported him, been disappointed, but supported. Theo, sometimes he envied Liam that relationship with his parents, he really did. His own family had never been that supportive to the best of his memory. Sure, maybe, when he was a baby, when he didn’t have clear memories, they had loved him just as openly as Liam’s parents did… but by the time he was four or five, when his earliest memories, fuzzy as they were, surfaced, well… it had stopped. If it ever was.</p><p>His parents had adopted what one would assume they thought, a beautiful baby boy, to love, just as they loved their biological daughter. There had been health issues when his ‘mother’ gave birth to Tara and she couldn’t have any more children as a result, and with the couple having their heart set on the perfect family of two parents and two kids, preferably one of each, boy and girl, deciding to adopt had been an easy choice. Theo had come to the Raeken’s, the little brother for their darling daughter.</p><p>Theo had been three when they realised that their perfect little boy, wasn’t so perfect, and in fact, was rather sickly. The doctors had told his parents that without a heart transplant, he’d be lucky to survive even long enough to attend school. He had though, despite being weighed down with numerous hospital visits, constant check-ups for the conditions stemmed from his weak heart, Theo had kept going. Each time he ended up in the hospital, he was reminded though, just how much of a burden his family considered him. His parents barely talked to him now unless it was in front of the doctors, assuring them they made sure that he took all his medication, not true, the housekeeper did that. It wasn’t that they mistreated Theo, they just didn’t treat him like anything at all. Tara, on the other hand, the sweet darling sister that everyone else saw was not the sister that Theo knew.</p><p>The revenant that had had her visage that ripped his heart out again and again in that underground prison, he actually preferred her. At least with her, he knew what to expect. With her, she didn’t smile at his face in front of everyone else, while spewing vile hatred towards him when they were alone.</p><p>Never did a day go by that she didn’t remind him that he wasn’t her brother, that he wasn’t even a real Raeken, he was just a pathetic excuse and why couldn’t he just run away and die already. It would make life better for everyone. HER parents would actually be home more, HER parents would be able to afford the things that she wanted instead of spending all their money on HIS hospital bills. HER parents didn’t love him because he was nothing but a waste of oxygen and sooner or later he was going to die anyway, so why didn’t he just hurry up already.</p><p>She almost killed him a few times, not with her own hand, but just by doing nothing. The one he remembered all to vividly had happened within days of him meeting the dread doctors. She’d been stewing over a school trip that she didn’t get to go on because their parents couldn’t afford it with the hospital bills piling up. Theo remembered hearing her scream at the top of her lungs when their father had explained that she couldn’t go, they’d tried to get the money together in time, but it wasn’t possible. Theo had hidden at the top of the stairs while her yells had filled the house, only to slink into his room when he heard her stomping footsteps climb the stairs. The next afternoon he was doing his homework at the kitchen table, and Tara was messaging her friends, on the second-hand smartphone, it used to be their mothers, almost all their tech was second-hand, save money that way.</p><p>Theo had an asthma attack, he couldn’t breathe, and it was bad, so bad, he could feel his heart thumping painfully in his chest, racing too fast for the damaged organ, while his lungs burned trying to get the oxygen he needed. He didn’t remember what happened, but as far as he knew, Tara had just set her phone down on the table and watched him gasp for breath, eventually sliding from his chair and falling to the floor. He’d passed out by the time the housekeeper had run in, calling the ambulance and saving his life.</p><p>Another hospital trip for Tara to blame him for, another time that her life didn’t magically get better while his life ended as it should.</p><p>The day after he got out of the hospital that visit, feeling weak and pathetic just as he always had, that was the day he had met the dread doctors.</p><p>Theo knew it wasn’t right, and Liam would judge him for having thought it, even as a child, but he’d found poetic justice that there was no one to save Tara as she died, with Theo just watching over her after she’d fallen in the river. Just like she’d watched him that day, as he struggled to breathe. He could argue he hadn’t killed her, he just hadn’t tried to save her, but Theo knew. He knew. He’d known what he was doing convincing Tara to go out into the preserve that night, telling her he saw a lost dog, one that looked exactly like the puppy she always wanted and never could have because their parents said they couldn’t afford it.</p><p>Tara didn’t get her puppy, but Theo got his new heart. Their parents mourned their biological child and still didn’t bother to talk to Theo, the son they still had. It had been easy to disappear after they left Beacon Hills, easy for him to just vanish from their lives. They didn’t even miss him, they had made a new life for themselves in another country, even with two new perfectly angelic children. They had the perfect family they had always wanted, and Theo, Theo had a werewolf with I.E.D. that he loved enough to make sure he didn’t get himself killed with his stupidity.</p><p>Wrapping Liam’s hand in a bandage for the sake of his brother and JJ not asking any questions about the healed wounds,</p><p>“Not all of us can have a family like yours Liam. You’re lucky.”</p><p>And that was the closest Theo had ever honestly talking about his family in a long time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are love</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. apartment hunting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The road to college for the boys continues...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Liam was beyond enraged by the way Asher had been treated by his parents, god help them if they ever actually met the young werewolf, he had some WORDS he wanted to say to them, with his fists. He knew violence wasn’t supposed to be the answer, but Asher deserved fucking better. He was Theo’s brother, Theo’s family and like fuck would Liam not take it in his own stride to make sure that he was protected, just like he would Theo, anyone in his pack. He might only be the acting alpha of the pack, didn’t mean he felt any less responsible, and that included the unknowing humans off in Beverly Hills.</p><p>Despite his simmering anger directed towards people Liam didn’t care to ever meet, the rest of the weekend with Asher and JJ visiting had gone really well. The next day they’d all gone out to lunch and had fun around town before the pair set to drive back as they had an early practice the next morning. Ah, the life of collegiate sportsmen, Liam knew he’d have to get used to that next year, potentially early morning practices that were going to KILL him. With that, he made a bright neon shining light of a mental note to invest in the best coffee machine he could afford. It was going to be his lifeline; he was sure of it.</p><p>Another couple of weeks past, and Corey, has officially been offered, and immediately accepted, the scholarship they’d been vying for in the sports program at UCLA! He got congratulated by everyone in the pack, including Asher and JJ when Liam excitedly told them. Yes, he’d snatched Theo’s phone from his hands, while he was using it so he didn’t have to deal with the passcode stuff, and shot a message off to Asher to let him know. Not that JJ wouldn’t have told him, but it was the principle of the thing! Don’t worry, Theo got his phone back with a glare and a scolding ‘little wolf’ from him, not that Liam was worried he was really angry considering while they were watching their movie he still let Liam give him a foot rub. Theo was careful with touching, and Liam always felt privileged when it came to Theo not only allowing it, but seemed to welcome it… meaning he dropped his feet onto Liam’s knees with a pointed look. Liam didn’t mind at all, it made him happy.</p><p>Now, they could continue their plans with summer on the horizon and moving to LA so they could go to college and live the lives of college freshmen. The next step was apartment hunting! With the plan to pool their resources, the idea was to find an apartment they could afford together for all three of them, less stress, and no having to deal with random roommates like Theo sometimes teased him about. Nope, just Mason and Corey, much more preferred!</p><p>Going over listings, the three of them, Theo supervising, of course. Liam insisted he had to know where they were going to live considering he could stay with them when coming to visit Asher! Liam had grinned when Theo didn’t argue, deciding to ignore the exasperated look he got instead whenever the subject came up and refused to leave them to it. </p><p>They went over real estate sites, talked to landlords, took virtual tours, and they came up with a list of a few different apartments that they wanted to look at first. They had to be quick because they no doubt would be snapped up sooner rather than later with the fact that in a few months, other kids like them would be looking for any place they could get. Another road trip was planned, and this time Liam didn’t even bother pretending to ask Theo if he would come.</p><p>He was. The werewolf decided Theo had to come with them, it was his weekend off and he could visit Asher while they were there, simple. This time, they all went up together, Theo driving the truck, Liam chilling having called shotgun, not that Corey or Mason had tried to fight him on it, no, they were happy to sit together in the back, hand in hand. No making-out in Theo’s truck though, Liam could only smirk at the grumbling of the chimera about not needing to smell nothing but teenage hormones for the next two hours, and how he probably would anyway.</p><p>Not that he was entirely wrong there.</p><p>The drive had been simple, when they got there they got in a tour of one of the apartments, and Mason had to clamp down on both Liam and Corey to jump at making an offer for it without even seeing the others they had lined up. Theo, had unhelpfully, to Liam anyway, agreed with Mason. As much as that apartment looked fine for them, one of the others could be better. Liam had just wrinkled his nose and complained about ruining their fun. Not really, he didn’t, Liam was just so excited that this was happening. The only disappointing part was that Theo didn’t want to move with them.</p><p>Nolan and Alec were lost causes, well no, but they were choosing to go to the local college and already had an apartment lined up in Derek’s building. Liam had been a bit surprised Nolan had been willing to stay in Beacon Hills, but seeing him with Alec sometimes, he wasn’t so surprised as to why.</p><p>They were enjoying pizza for dinner at the motel they’d gotten a double room at, Liam not blinking about sharing a bed again, at least they weren’t fighting this time. Theo on his phone,</p><p>“Asher wants to know if we’d like to go to lunch tomorrow? One of his friends from high school is back for the weekend apparently.”</p><p>Liam’s attention was grabbed at that, Theo sure sounded like he didn’t care about the invite, but Liam knew better. Living with the older guy for months now, and as much as he was hard to read, he was getting better at guessing at least. Theo, in the weeks past, could pretend he still thought Asher was better off not knowing him, or painfully Liam would admit that maybe he wasn’t pretending, he really thought Asher would be better off, but Theo himself, despite not admitting it, did want to know Asher. When it came to Asher, he wasn’t one of Liam’s friends or one of Liam’s packmates, it was Theo’s pack too and Liam refused to stop correcting him on it, no, Asher was <i>his</i> brother. Whether Liam was involved or not, Asher would always be his brother.</p><p>“Do you want to meet his friend?”</p><p>As much as Liam was eager to jump in and say YES, they’d go to lunch if only so he could hang out with Asher and JJ again, the other friends were unknown entities. Though, considering his previous cyber stalk of Asher, he probably knew more about them than he should. Like Jordan, Ash’s best friend on the Eagles football team, he’d gone to a different college but still saw each other whenever he came home. Olivia and Layla, Asher’s ex-girlfriends, Spencer, a guy Liam weren’t sure if Asher liked him or hated him, not sure why either way, but they’d played football together at least. There were other people that he could mean by high school friends, but none of any of them mattered to Liam.</p><p>Theo did. The older boy looked up from his phone after a moment,</p><p>“Yea, I think it would be good.”</p><p>Liam grinned at that admission, good,</p><p>“Then we’ll go.”</p><p>They had a couple of apartments to check out in the morning, but they could swing lunch easily, they’d already planned to go somewhere, this just decided it for them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and kudos are love</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. the deep end</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>And lunch begins</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please check the updated tags, a homophobic slur is included later in the chapter, and will be also handled in the next. If this will trigger you, please be responsible and don't read.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t that Asher was keeping the news that he had a brother a secret, it was more like he wanted to hold on to this for himself just a little while longer. Of course, that wasn’t how things happened, JJ had been talking to Jordan yesterday about a party tonight, while Jordan was in town, and mentioned inviting Theo and his friends. That of course had led to questions, and Asher wasn’t going to lie about having a brother, even if it had gotten a bit awkward when Jordan mentioned him never saying he was adopted…</p><p>The party invite had turned into a lunch invite, considering Asher didn’t think Theo would be up for a frat party on the campus. Lunch with Jordan, turned into lunch with Jordan, Olivia, Layla and Spencer… Jordan just couldn’t resist, at all, and the others had just invited themselves along.</p><p>“You realise lunch is on you for this right?”</p><p>The laughter that came from Jordan then had Asher grinning with a shake of his head, unbelievable, just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He had not wanted to throw Theo in the deep end, even if JJ pointed out they’d met all of Theo’s friends in a group, so why not, rip off the band-aide all at once right?</p><p>“I can’t believe you have a brother Ash, this is so amazing, he probably has so many different stories!”</p><p>Olivia, as usual, was interested in people, while their breakup back in their senior year had been difficult, eventually, they’d evened out and stayed friends, after all, both her and her brother, were two of his best friends, supported him when things went to hell and back. </p><p>“Maybe don’t ask though Liv, he doesn’t like talking about his past, and his family.”</p><p>Asher sighed,</p><p>“He doesn’t need to say anything for me to be able to tell it really isn’t a good story. I don’t want to push it.”</p><p>Maybe when he was ready Theo would tell him what had happened with his adopted family, why he didn’t have anything to do with them anymore, but in truth, Asher didn’t care. Asher was happy to be patient and would take anything he could get when it came to having Theo in his life. Theo was the first person he had ever had in his family, that didn’t seem to want anything from him. He didn’t ask anything from him, he seemed to just be okay with him there and not wanting anything but, well him. It felt so refreshingly good.</p><p>“Man Ash! He looks just like you.”</p><p>The shocked exclamation from Jordan just made Asher laugh,</p><p>“Yea, that's called being a twin Jordan, keep up!”</p><p>Asher glancing across the way to the door leading into the cafe, sure enough, there was Theo, with Liam, Mason, and Corey tagging along. Standing from the table, Asher went over to his brother,</p><p>“Yea, it was just meant to be Jordan, but he couldn’t keep his mouth shut, so, a few more people showed up. Sorry.”</p><p>Theo’s eyes were drawn to the group at the tables that had been pushed together, Liam had given him a bit of a crash course on Asher’s social media, and compiling the many, many, years he’d scoured of his life to find information on him. While to some it would seem like cheating, Theo had done many a reconnaissance when it came to people of interest with the dread doctors. Asher wasn’t a target, but his friends sort of were, he needed them to be okay with him, lest Asher notices he was a little, strange. </p><p>As he looked back to Asher, he smiled slightly, the group much larger than he’d like, and he was itching to just back away and get out of there, but he could do this. He could do this without putting on that smiling nice guy mask, that just felt wrong with Asher. Pulled from his thoughts by feeling Liam nudge him with his shoulder, oh right, Asher was already walking back to his friends and he was supposed to follow. Yes, Liam, he could in fact put one foot in front of the other, see, rolling his eyes at the look the short beta gave him as they walked over.</p><p>Asher’s friends, were, nice. Weirdly nice, Theo wasn’t used to nice people. Okay, so the Geyer’s were nice, but, they were, well, they were Liam’s family. It was different with them. These kids, it was just strange okay to Theo. He was used to snarky humans, and people barely tolerating him in the pack, and here these kids were all laughing, and joking, talking to him like he was some, normal person. It felt weird. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing, or a bad thing, it was just weird. </p><p>Liam was laughing at a story that Jordan was telling about a prank that they had pulled freshman year that had taken an unfortunate turn landing them with suspensions. It was fun to hear such normal stories, not when Liam’s stories either involved his IED or well, supernatural issues. Talking about how he was hunted by assassins cause he’d been worth millions or dealing with, oh yea, Dread Doctors and a pack of chimeras, two of which were sitting at the table, and ghost riders, hunters, no… they were not stories they could tell without spinning half-truths to cover them. A raging bear massacre instead of a massive werewolf beast rampage had been what was reported in the media after the dread doctors. Drugs and different excuses had explained some of the assassination attempts, cover stories all over the place.</p><p>None of which they talked about, instead they were talking about lacrosse, and they were in town looking for an apartment. This news was met with advice on where was better to look into than others, and so forth, something that Mason was definitely listening to with rapt attention, Corey leaning heavily against his side with his arm around the back of Mason's waist, chin resting on his shoulder. It was then that Liam heard a not so quiet comment about how <i>faggots</i> shouldn’t be allowed to flaunt themselves in public, and without thinking he was growling as he glared at the assholes that were passing their table. </p><p>What the hell was that? Asher had tensed at hearing the comment, the kind of comment that he hated the thought of hearing when it came to JJ and himself, and for a second, for a second he thought he slipped and reached for JJ without thinking, but he was two seats down talking to Spencer. Oh, oh, shit, he didn’t need his brother’s friends having to deal with, wait, what was that sound? Glancing over to the other side of the table, the sound abruptly stopped as Theo picked up one of the phones on the table at the same time nudging Liam,</p><p>“<i><b>Liam</b></i>, stop putting your phone on that weird ass vibration tone.”</p><p>Right, yea, he agreed with Theo entirely, that was a weird vibration tone, whatever it was. He’d have sworn a dog had been somewhere in here otherwise, strange but okay.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. pea brain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Liam just can't let it go.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Again use of homophobic language and the outcome of adverse reactions to it.</p><p>Please do not read if you think this will trigger you.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Liam’s low growl had died instantly when he realized with the sharp nudge to the ribs from Theo. His glare at Theo froze with realisation at what he’d just done, shit. It was a strange thing, ever since the end of the war Beacon Hills had known about the supernatural, so little slips like that wasn’t a problem, that wasn’t the case here. He had to rein it in, just like before all the chaos at the start of the year.</p><p>Swallowing, a glance towards Asher, he didn’t seem any the wiser at least with Theo’s quick thinking, Liam taking his phone from him and opening the screen as if yes, he got a message to make the damn thing vibrate on the table. He could practically feel the eye roll Theo threatened to get, just because he had some perfect control, and Liam well, he didn’t. Could they really blame him though, hearing what assholes remark? It was a funny thing, all the stories, all the media, wasn’t it supposed to be the small town that wasn’t accepting of sexual orientations outside of what <i>some</i> idiots considered normal. Liam had never had to really face that in Beacon Hills, if anyone had dared to call Mason that as they grew up, Liam would have gone postal.</p><p>Still wanted to do just that now as he glared over to the jackass that had made the offending remark. Another nudge from Theo had him having to force himself to turn back to the group, it wasn’t easy for him, it never was. When something stuck in his craw, his blood just boiled and coming back from that was a lot harder than spiralling down into it. Rage was just so easy to give into, and since he turned, having the strength to match didn’t make it any easier. Despite that, the warmth of Theo’s knee, which had discreetly been pressed against his under the table, was helping to keep him grounded.</p><p>He was able to pretend to be listening to the conversation, and nothing seemed to directed at him, he didn’t notice if it was if he was honest. At least Theo, Mason, and Corey were covering for him if it was, none of them acting like Liam just mentally checking out was too out of the ordinary. Instead, he just let that warmth from Theo feel like it was seeping into him through the layers of their jeans and wrapping around him. His scent, his heartbeat, washed over his senses and cocooning him as if his feet were finally reaching solid ground.</p><p>When he could finally feel like he was breathing without fiery rage stoking every breath, Liam swallowed,</p><p>“Excuse me, nature calls.”</p><p>He really just wanted to splash some cold water on his face after that. At least he hadn’t spiralled into an episode, and not the first time Theo just being there brought him back from one. It was something that both brought him so much comfort, and worried him, what if Theo found out just how deep his feelings went, that he wasn’t just a friend, but his anchor, his.. Everything? It would be a complete disaster, he just knew it. </p><p>It was as he was stepping out of the bathroom that everything went to shit.</p><p>There they were, now they were sitting at a table not far from the bathroom entrance, fuckwit one, and fuckwit two, as they were now titled in Liam’s mind. Laughing together with some friends of theirs before one of them spied Liam, who admittedly was staring at them. His feet should be moving back to the table with his friends, his friends, and Asher’s friends. Oh, he knew this, he knew… but instead, his feet were moving alright, moving him right towards the table where the pair of douchebag extraordinaire was sitting, oh, another good name. He could think of very good names for people like them.</p><p>“Fuck off you <i>fag</i>, don’t want someone like you near me.”</p><p>Liam sneered at them, not at all imaginative were they,</p><p>“Oh I’m sorry, what was I thinking, giving someone with a brain the size of a pea a chance to apologize.”</p><p>“Oh you will be-”</p><p>“What the <b><i>fuck</i></b> did you just say?”</p><p>Liam laughed at the beefed-up moron standing from his table then, his friend hastily joining him. These idiots could look like they could snap Liam like a twig, but he knew better of course, and he wasn’t afraid of them, not even if he wasn’t a wolf, assholes like them deserved the beating he’d happily give him. The fact that with the scraping chair of the guy standing up, Liam could hear a few tables behind him Mason’s distinct voice</p><p>
  <i> “Shit, Theo, <b>Liam.</b>”</i>
</p><p>Liam could proudly say he was not the one that threw the first punch, oh no, he just smirked at the asshole,</p><p>“You heard me.”</p><p>He barely even felt the fist that slammed into his cheek, idiot couldn’t even punch right, probably even broke his hand at the yell of pain, or was that from Liam’s fist? Or Theo’s fist, oh, right, he was there now. </p><p>The jumble didn’t last long before Theo was dragging him away, but they still got kicked out of the cafe, Liam, Theo, well, pretty much all of them, including JJ and Asher who had along with Jordan jumped into the fray. Oh wow, Liam did not see that coming! He did feel guilty once they were outside and just the sound of Theo’s heartbeat was calming him again.</p><p>He was helping Theo with Asher, who’s taken a nasty hit to his rips, Liam was testing his side through his shirt just like he had countless times with lacrosse, having a doctor for a dad really helped sometimes. He was fine, and while it made Liam sigh in relief, a sick knot in his stomach for causing all of this trouble. Sure those assholes deserved it, but he shouldn’t have been so reckless, he could almost hear his dad in his head telling him he should be more careful.</p><p>“He’s fine, ribs just seem bruised.”</p><p>Theo looked worriedly from Ash, glad that despite the pain he was fine, and to Liam. Gauging from the little wolf’s expression, he could see the way his face was almost screwed up that he knew he’d fucked up, and he was going to let this eat at him for a while. Bumping his shoulder to Liam’s lightly,</p><p>“Go check on Mason and Corey.”</p><p>Asher was taking slow deep breaths, even if it was just bruising to his ribs, Theo could tell he was in pain, and his hand touched his brother’s arm as he was distracted looking over to JJ covertly making sure his boyfriend wasn’t badly hurt. Gripping his arm slightly, he let himself focus, leeching the pain from Asher slowly, the black veins that travelled up his arm were thankfully mostly hidden by the jacket he’d worn today. Nice choice. </p><p>“Good thing the bruising isn’t that bad, feels like I didn’t even get hit.”</p><p>Theo smiled, he could feel the pain fading that he’d taken from Ash, it was nothing, but to Theo, it was important. While he knew Ash could take a tackle, he’d seen it when he saw him play the first night they’d been here, he’d rather not have him feel more, not for this. He’d tried to get to Liam to stop the werewolf from doing something stupid. What he’d done was stupid sure, but why he didn’t Theo agreed with wholeheartedly.</p><p>As Asher looked back at him,</p><p>“You get it now right, why we, JJ and I- We can’t-”</p><p>“It’s still fucking bullshit Ash. Not only does he deserve better, but so do you.”</p><p>Asher had seemed to go to argue with him when he called it bullshit, it was, it was all bullshit letting people like those asshole tell them who they could and couldn’t love.</p><p>“So does Liam, Theo.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. tell him</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The brother's conversation continues</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>“So does Liam, Theo.”</i>
</p><p>He wasn’t wrong, both JJ and Liam seemed to be incredibly patient with both of them. Sure after the scene in the cafe, you wouldn’t think Liam was patient at all, but that wasn’t true. Asher saw the way the tough guy act just folded when Liam looked at Theo, there was no mistaking that look. He felt that look himself, right down to the core.</p><p>Now though, Asher was looking towards Theo as he spoke of Liam, instantly knowing in his gut that they were being taken the wrong way, that for whatever reason his brother, idiotically, thought Asher was saying that he wasn’t good enough for Liam. Shaking his head,</p><p>“T, don’t do that. Liam wants <i>you</i>, and he deserves for you to be honest and tell him how you feel about him.”</p><p>Theo shook his head slightly and Ash fixed him with a hard glare,</p><p>“Theo, you listen to me, I don’t know what happened, or who told you that you’re not worth being happy, not good enough for Liam, I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m not asking you to tell me okay, I respect that there are things you aren’t ready, might never be ready to talk about.”</p><p>No, Asher wasn’t going to force him to tell him anything, that would just be hypocritical and he wouldn’t do it.</p><p>“I can’t say much, parts of my life, well, it’s shitty and I don’t want to talk about it either. I do know this, the way Liam looks at you, you are his world. His world, Theo. So no matter how horrible yours has been, you make his better. I know, because I see in Liam how I feel when I look at JJ.”</p><p>Swallowing,</p><p>“I don’t know where I would be without JJ.”</p><p>Asher’s focus was drawn back to JJ who was now talking to Liam, he looked as if he was asking the shorter man if he was okay, and considering he had taken the worst hits after starting the fight, it was a miracle the kid wasn’t worse off. Just because there were no visible effects of the fight, Asher knew that wasn’t always the case, and so did JJ, but from the looks of it, Liam was assuring him.</p><p>Taking in a deep breath, making a decision then and there, something had to change, for both of them. As Ash looked back to Theo, his brother seemed to be blank, and Ash could only guess at what was going through that head of him,</p><p>“I do you a deal, you tell Liam how you feel, actual words Theo, not just alluding to it,”</p><p>Smirking, Asher sometimes thought his brother was allergic to emotions with the way he talked sometimes. Especially when it came to Liam. To this point, Theo had not actually confirmed, in detail, how he felt about Liam to Asher, and Ash didn’t think he was going to either. No, he had a feeling if anyone was going to be the one to get those words out of Theo, it would have to be the other guy himself. If Asher could give Theo just a little shove in the right direction, he didn’t in the least bit of a problem with that.</p><p>“Then I’ll talk to JJ about, changing our status on our socials.”</p><p>Smirking as he thought of how JJ put it when Ash has talked to him about his worries about being together on the same team. As he’d put it, who they were dating only mattered to them, and if they wanted to wait to become Facebook official (when neither of them used FB a hell of a lot) then what did it matter to anyone but them?</p><p>The look Theo gave him then, just made Asher laugh,</p><p>“Don’t ask.”</p><p>Yes, he knew Theo’s opinions on social media, he found them out when JJ had asked for Theo’s profile so he could add him. Oh, had he leaned.</p><p>“No deal, wait, no, listen.”</p><p>Theo stopped his brother from arguing, no doubt to make his point about how he needed to talk to Liam, how he couldn’t just leave the kid in limbo. Theo, struggled with his feelings when it came to the little wolf, and maybe, maybe if he told him the truth, and the inevitable happened, then, it was done. Theo could stop imposing on the Geyer family, sure he’d still watch out for Liam, he always would, but… sooner or later it was going to come out.</p><p>“I’m not going to be your reason to come out with JJ, that's something you should do for yourself Asher. No one else, but you, and JJ knows that. Why do you think he’s been so willing to wait till you’re ready?”</p><p>Asher made a strangled sound in his throat, he’d not thought about it so much as coming out before, just, being careful of who sees them dating. Thinking back on it, outside of JJ and Theo, he’d never really actually said it out loud, that he’s queer. That he likes boys as much as he likes girls. That he loves JJ. </p><p>Swallowing, it was about time that he did that. Not for Theo, not even for JJ, but for himself.</p><p>“Yea.. yea I want to do that.”</p><p>He was ready. Looking back to his brother, feeling lighter, and it had nothing to do with the fact his chest wasn’t constricted quite as much as when they’d first walked out of the cafe. Seeing Theo grin back to him,</p><p>“Come on, let's go check on our boys, make sure they aren’t concocting any more trouble.”</p><p>Knowing them, Asher wouldn’t put it past them! Time to save everyone even more trouble than they’d already gotten in by nipping that in the bud.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments, and kudos, are so much love!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. the time has come</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Theo finally tells Liam, and Liam has of course been scheming this entire time.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Theo had told Asher he was going to tell Liam, and he truly meant it. It was figuring out how to do it that was a challenge, and every time he thought he could do that, he’d cave and chicken out. Who would have thought, Theo Raeken, the chimera of death, and he’d be too scared to utter one little truth.</p><p>Okay, that was a lie, it was a big fucking truth and it could change, and utterly destroy everything around him. </p><p>Theo didn’t know what he’d do if Liam didn’t want to take a risk on him.</p><p>Yes, Asher said all those fluffy loving things about the way Liam looked at him, but looking at him and actually wanting something more with him were two different things. You could love someone, and not want to be with them, he’d seen it, Theo had seen a hell of a lot in this world. Manipulated, tortured, killed, you name it, and he’d probably done it during his years with the Dread Doctors, whether he was proud of it or not didn't matter, it was done. In the end, even if they’d saved his life as a kid, it had not been a good life to live, and Theo, he could be trying to make up for it all for the rest of his life, and he didn’t think it would be enough. He would never be good enough to deserve Liam.</p><p>The worst things he did, he would always come back to what he did in Beacon Hills. Sure, most people would say killing Scott, digging his claws into his chest to grip his heart, was the worst thing he could do. Theo did not agree. Killing someone who was at the time your adversary, sure it was bad, but manipulating someone into killing their friend? That was worse. Liam. He’d hurt Liam more than any of the rest, continued to manipulate him through Hayden even after the supermoon.</p><p>That was why it was so hard to tell him, nothing felt good enough when it came to the little wolf. Sure Liam forgave him, but Theo didn’t feel like he deserved it, and would ever be able to deserve it, and yet Liam gave it anyway… how could Theo possibly match that?</p><p>The rest of the weekend after the fight had gone rather smoothly, looked at a few more apartments, filled in an application for one, and within a week of being back, they had it. They would be picking their key a month before school started, the same time training began for Liam and Corey, so Theo planned to go with them and help Mason because honestly, who knows how insane the first month of college training was going to get for those guys. </p><p>With their graduation just around the corner, it wouldn’t be long now until Liam was packing up a good portion of his stuff to cart it off to his college apartment, for the next four years at least. Theo was not looking forward to it, even if he was prolonging the loss by staying with them until they got settled and unpacked while Liam and Corey were put through the wringer by their new coach. Time would tell what was going to happen after that.</p><p>Tonight though, the full moon was high in the sky, and Theo had been running with Liam through the preserve, it had become something to help the werewolf burn off all that extra energy he had during the peak nights of the moon. When some of the other members of the pack were home, they could join them, but Theo preferred the nights when it was just Liam and him, and he could run through the forest on all fours, completely free without any worries in the world. Liam often complained about not being able to fully shift as well, until he was reminded that Derek literally had to get turned into a teenager, lose all his powers, and die to learn how to fully shift. Theo and Malia didn’t count, they were coyotes after all. After that Liam would be just happy for the beta shift until it came up again.</p><p>Leaning back against the pillows that they’d stashed in the bed of the truck for this very reason, they could head back to town if they wanted to at this point, but looking up to the sky, with the bright moon glancing down to them, it was peaceful.</p><p>“Little Wolf,”</p><p>Feeling Liam shift beside him on the blanket laid out, having bedding with the truck was miles different not than when he was homeless, the young werewolf’s gaze on him, Theo glanced his way. </p><p>“Liam, I love you.”</p><p>There, he said it, Theo got the words out before his throat decided it wanted to close on him. The moment he managed to get the words out, his eyes were drawn back to the sky, taking in a deep breath, trying to resist the creeping feelings of panic that were clawing their way out of his chest as the silence drew on.</p><p>“Theo?”</p><p>Shit, this was, </p><p>“You know what this means right?”</p><p>Theo was holding his breath, waiting, waiting for Liam to let him down painfully. When he didn’t say anything, Theo sighed,</p><p>“I know Liam, I know, I’ll move out by the end of the week, you don’t have to worry about it.”</p><p>He never expected Liam to laugh.</p><p>“You’re an idiot sometimes Theo, you’re not moving out, not yet. Not until we go to LA, better start packing, you’re coming with us.”</p><p>The silence hung in the air as Theo tried to make sense of what Liam was saying. His words all strung together made sense, they did, but,</p><p>“Liam, you’re the one going to college, not me.”</p><p>“Oh come on Theo, why else did you think I made sure your opinion of the apartment was included? I’m just glad I didn’t have to blackmail you.”</p><p>Liam was grinning as Theo looked over to him, what the hell? Sometimes he really wondered what was going through that head of his, he had the most chaotic thought process he had ever known.</p><p>“Liam? What's blackmail got to do with this?”</p><p>“Theo, I love you too, I couldn’t just leave without you. How am I supposed to watch your back all the way in LA?”</p><p>Now the Theo was the one that was laughing, a rough chuckle,</p><p>“Liam, you are ridiculous.”</p><p>Planning to blackmail him instead of just asking? Definitely ridiculous. But then again, this was Liam, and honestly, this didn’t really surprise Theo, it was just how Liam was.</p><p>“Oh, I’m ridiculous? You were the one with a hidden twin brother. Besides, this way, you can hang out with Asher more.”</p><p>Liam looked all kinds of victorious and Theo, he just, couldn’t stand seeing that grin on his face without doing something by it, and he knew just what would get </p><p>“For the love of, just come here little wolf.”</p><p>Reaching over, he pulled Liam towards him and into a kiss. All thoughts of how ridiculous the plans had disappeared into thin air with that and neither of them were in any hurry to get home where Liam’s parents were.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is the last full chapter, a bit of an epilogue to do, I hope everyone has enjoyed this!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. all wrapped up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Short epilogue for you.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Moving was a pain in the ass, but at least it was a might easier than moving with the Dread Doctors. No, tanks of fluid preserving a Nazi Alpha Löwenmench, or all the different medical equipment that was transported, from town to towns, sometimes it was warehouses, but sewers were the preferred. No one went into the sewers if they didn’t have to, so it always made the perfect stop for the Dread Doctors. </p>
<p>Who did most of the moving you ask? Three guesses and the first two don’t count. </p>
<p>You guessed it, Theo.</p>
<p>Moving a bunch of boxes in his truck that was basically just clothes and Liam’s accumulated stuff, both sports and otherwise, was nothing compared to moving all of the Dread Doctors stuff. Sure, he was unpacking boxes while Liam and Corey were off at lacrosse practice, but they were the ones that were stuck having to start training before college classes started. Theo, when he wasn’t unpacking, was looking into finding a job. He’d given his notice after Liam had <i>informed</i> him that he was moving with him. The fact that he’d actually thought he’d be able to blackmail Theo into moving was actually entirely hilarious as if he’d really had anything any on Theo. Oh, he knew Liam would never have brought up everything from before that hellscape prison, Liam always seemed ready to argue with Mason when he kept bringing it up, but he didn’t need to. Theo knows what he has done, going to hell didn’t miraculously make it all go away even if Liam was determined that he was getting better.</p>
<p>A week in the new apartment, and Theo was cutting up the last empty cardboard boxes, and adding them to the stack so he could take them out to the recycling later. Just one of the many mundane things his life brought him to of late.</p>
<p>Looking towards the front door as it opened, smiling as Liam and Corey came in, both of them looking a mess, making Theo chuckle low. Neither boy liked getting up before the sun for early morning training sessions, and it was hilarious watching Liam attempt to function before getting a cup of coffee into him. Honestly, he might as well just hook his boyfriend up to an IV of caffeine when Theo drags him out of bed!</p>
<p>Still, while Corey disappeared to find Mason in their room, Liam was rushing over to Theo, phone in hand,</p>
<p>“JJ posted something on insta this morning have a look,”</p>
<p>Sure enough, as he shoved his phone in front of Theo, one of those stupid social media sites open, he was greeted by a picture of the tall blond football player mid-kiss with none other than his brother, his boyfriend then swiped the screen to a second picture, a selfie of their grinning faces on the screen. Underneath was texted Liam was reading out,</p>
<p>“Partying it up with bae.”</p>
<p>This was going to make an interesting year for all of them, and Theo smiled, Asher looked so happy, and Theo, looking at Liam who was all smiles himself. He was happy too. Maybe he’d been wrong, Asher wasn’t better off without him, but sure as hell, Theo felt better off <i><b>with him</b></i>. Between Asher and Liam, he didn’t think he could ever want anything more.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for sticking through this with me :P</p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>